


Arcane

by tabbiano



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2020-05-31 17:41:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 18
Words: 42,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19430905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbiano/pseuds/tabbiano
Summary: Wendy Son Seungwan is just a normal girl studying in a music conservatory.Strangely, but not too suspicious, is the fact that it is located in an isolated area surrounded by forest with barely a town in sight.Enter Irene Bae Joohyun, an outcast lycan with a history of secrets, and who is also madly drawn to the human girl.Wendy thinks that she is crazy one night when she sees the whole school gathered in the courtyard on the full moon, eyes glowing different colors as they all morph into wolves.But how much crazier can things get than this?





	1. Chapter 1

WARNING: RATED M and TRIGGER WARNING FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS. READ AT OWN RISK. 

Wendy eagerly slipped her key into the mailbox, anticipating what she might find inside.

Anytime now, she would be getting acceptances to the music schools she applied to. Unfortunately, the box was empty, and she closed the box with disappointment. The suspense was killing her, and it was already halfway through the final semester of high school. All her friends had gotten their acceptance letters except her, and it was making her worried. Plus, she was worried how her parents were feeling when their friends asked about her progress.

Glumly, she entered her home and gave a sullen hello to the goldfish.

“Hi, honey! How was school?”

“Mom?” Wendy quickly hurried to the kitchen. “I thought you were at work!”

“Did you forget? I took off half the day because your father has that potluck tonight.”

“O-oh right…”

Mrs. Son peered at her daughter’s crestfallen face with concern. “Is anything the matter? Are you getting bullied again?”

“No no no! I’m fine!” Wendy waved off the issue. The days of bullying occurred during her years in junior high school, but that was long gone. Everyone divided once high school hit, especially since Wendy decided to attend a school of fine arts and music. Though she didn’t have many friends, she felt comfortable there and thankfully didn’t experience “high school drama” that the popular girls she once knew dreamed about.

Her mother went back to whipping up a storm of food on the stove. “Your father will be back soon. I’m making your favorite meal tonight so you won’t feel too lonely without us.” She threw a smile at her daughter. “There’s something for you on the table.”  
Wendy sighed. Her parents were always leaving her to go on their dinner dates and business potlucks and anything that didn’t involve her. They seemed to be living separate lives though they all lived under the same roof.

She was thankful that they cared and provided for her, but somehow they didn’t seem to have time for her outside of that. They rarely had any family times together, and the only time they were together was when they had company.

Nevertheless, Wendy turned out the way they had hoped—respectful and humble.

Wendy strode to the table to find a heap of mail piled on the surface. She skimmed through it and found only one envelope bearing her name.

Important information. Open at once.

Just one?

What a downer…

She dumped her backpack on the floor and plopped down at her desk to open the mail.

Dear Son Seungwan,

As a result of your successful auditions, we have been notified of your fine performance on guitar. All of the schools that have accepted you recommend that you attend our campus Arcane Conservatory of Music in the fall for Classical Guitar Performance.

Here at Arcane, we produce the finest professional musicians who become high in demand in the music industry. We also make sure to take care of all our students to ensure quality life.

All your expenses will be covered as you have shown promising potential.

A private van will pick you up and bring you to a private plane in August to bring you to campus. Unfortunately, we do not allow anyone else other than the student to come on campus so there will be no orientation for parents to attend. We believe in student independence, and that is why we do it this way. Our students are trained to be responsible and competent.

When your transportation arrives, you will meet an escort who will accompany you to the plane.

You will meet your private instructor once you have arrived, and meet with an advisor to create your schedule during your attendance at the conservatory.

Thank you so much for your cooperation and making Arcane Conservatory of Music your top choice.

See you in the fall!

She hadn’t told her parents yet. Her mind was still trying to process the news even as they waved her goodbye before leaving for the potluck.

Wendy shoved a spoonful of rice in her mouth as she pondered this too-good-to-be-true opportunity to study at an alleged top-tier school.

But why haven’t I heard of this school? She wondered. I searched for conservatories all over the country, and I never saw this one.

Strange…nonetheless, Wendy was pleased. She got into a top school based on recommendation from all the other schools she auditioned for.

-

“We’re going to miss you so much, honey,” Mrs. Son fussed over her only daughter. “It’s too bad the school won’t let us visit. Make sure to come home during the break.”

“I will, mom. I’ll call you.”

Mrs. Son kissed her forehead and Mr. Son also hugged her and kissed the top of her head.  
“We’re proud of you, Wendy.” Her mother turned to her husband. “We should give it to her now before they come.”

Mr. Son left the room and came out with a guitar case that looked brand new. “The guitar you’ve been using is a bit worn out so we bought you something to help you.”

Wendy took the case and opened it, her mouth dropping open when it revealed a brand new acoustic guitar.

“Mom…Dad…”

A horn blasted from the front.

This was all happening too fast.

She wouldn’t be seeing her family for a while, and she was going somewhere far away. “I’m going to miss you so much,” she croaked out.

Her parents hugged her. “Remember we always love you.”

“I love you too,” she said.

The driver helped Wendy bring her luggage and guitar into the spacious van. With one last glance, she waved at her parents. She could see her mother crying and her father trying to be the strong one. He waved with a toothy grin.

Wendy continued looking out at them as the van pulled away until she could no longer see them.

She felt weight drop in her guts and cold nervousness settling upon her. She was on her own now. The thought was slightly unsettling and she even felt a shiver down her spine.

Half an hour later, she was at the airport where an escort awaited her at the terminal.

But no one said the escort was a student who was just slightly older than her. “I’m Taeyeon!” the other girl introduced herself.

She had bright eyes, a friendly smile, and greeted her with a welcoming hug.

Wendy wasn’t a very intimate person unless it was family so the sudden hug was a bit awkward.

“Let me help you with that.”

“Oh…thanks.”

Taeyeon helped her onto the plane, which was quite spacious and also fairly empty.

“There’s not too many people,” Wendy commented.

“Oh, it’s very difficult to get into the conservatory. Every year, we only get a certain number of new students.” She smiled. “It means you’re very talented and your skill far exceeds other student musicians.”

Wendy didn’t know what to say so she only gave a meek smile without saying a word. She followed Taeyeon into a row of empty seats. This was a first class plane, so there were five seats to a row on each side of the plane.

She concluded that this school must have a lot of donors or else how could they afford escorts and such a fancy plane?

“You haven’t told me your name yet,” Taeyeon said as she put her luggage in a compartment and set her guitar aside in one of the seats.

“It’s Wendy.”

“Ah…Wendy,” Taeyeon said it in a way that sounded like she was savoring the name. “The name suits you. You’re very cute.”

The younger girl felt a blush rising to her cheeks. She seldom got compliments, and it did make her feel a bit uncomfortable when people did though she wasn’t sure why.

“I’m pursuing a master’s degree right now,” Taeyeon continued.

“What instrument do you play?” Wendy asked.

“I sing, but I know some piano and guitar. I see you have a guitar. Maybe we should do a collab someday.”

“Maybe…”

This sunbae was really straightforward.

Wendy also realized they were sitting in the far back, away from other passengers. She also noticed how they were all spaced at a far enough distance that they couldn’t eavesdrop on each other’s conversations.

Uneasiness began to fill her mind at the thought of being alone with Taeyeon for who knows how long.

“Uh…excuse me, but how long is the trip?” Wendy asked.

“Oh not long.” Taeyeon gave her a reassuring smile. “I know you’re nervous. We all went through the same process.” She placed a hand on her shoulder. “Has anyone told you how cute you are?”

“W-what?” Wendy flinched at the sudden intimacy and slapped her hand off. “S-sorry,” she apologized quickly. “I don’t like to be touched.”

“It’s ok. Would you like something to drink?”

“Sure.”

Anything to help get rid of these awkward vibes.

Taeyeon waved over an air stewardess who brought some soda for them. The both of them thanked the stewardess, who bid them a good flight, which hadn’t even started by the way.

“Don’t worry,” Taeyeon said as if she knew what Wendy was thinking. “We kind of have a schedule so we need to wait a bit. Drink up. It’ll help.”

So Wendy did.

A few minutes later, she felt really sleepy and struggled to keep her eyes open. She tried to see the other people sitting in the front, finding them drinking something, and others with their heads to the side as if they too were sleeping.

“W-what…?” she tried to phrase a question.

“It’s alright, Wendy. We’ll be there before you know it,” Taeyeon’s voice purred in her ear.

The younger girl couldn’t even form a syllable as she gave in to the heavy sleepiness.

\--

“She’s absolutely perfect.”

“I saw her video audition…what talent.”

“She is the one for sure. The others we’ll have to await their potential.”

“Did you get the samples we need, doctor?”

“Yessir, we will conduct studies now. It will only take a few minutes and then we can decide what to do.”

“Good. We’ll have her transported to the infirmary until then…”

Wendy awoke in the darkest darkness she had ever seen in her life. She jolted up and looked around. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark and she could just barely make out shapes and silhouttes around her.

This was a small room.

A dorm?

She managed to find a lamp, and pulled the switch dimly lighting up the space.

So it was a dorm after all. She looked around to find her luggage sitting in front of the closet and her guitar leaning in a corner. There was a desk and a drawer for storage.

Her head was still muddled and she tried to remember what was going on before she woke up. All she could recall was being on the plane with Taeyeon, and feeling really sleepy.

I must have slept the whole way through, including arriving here.

Embarrassment filled her chest. They must have carried her and her things here during her sleep.

As her eyes roved the room, she spotted a bottle and a post-it note attached to it. She got up to inspect the item.

Wendy,

Since you are getting accustomed to a new environment, all new students are required to take medicine that will help you to become immune to new viruses. In place of vaccinations, we use pills for ease of access. Please remember to take one every night before bed with water.

Wendy found it strange, but it sort of made sense. Wait…did it?

She took the bottle of pills and went to the window to find that there was not a light in sight. With any light provided from the moon, she could only see the treetops below, and the mountains in the distance.

There wasn’t a city to be seen.

Slightly disconcerted, she turned away from the window.

Where in heck was Arcane Conservatory located?

And where to find water?

Wendy found the roomkey on the nightstand and took that with her as she stepped out of the dorm. She must have been lucky to room alone. Didn’t most colleges require roommates?

Nevertheless, she didn’t mind not having roommates at all. She was shy, and she welcomed having time away from people. It was a way of recharging before exerting energy to meet people again.

Nothing seemed amiss as she walked the hallways. It seemed like a regular dorm/hotel. Luckily, no one was around…and also unluckily, because it made the place seem eerie and haunted.

Wendy made sure to recount her steps so she wouldn’t get lost alone. The water fountain was down the hallway, a turn left, and then a right away from her dorm. She felt anxious to get back to her private room.

She popped open the cap and took out a white pill, which she took in her mouth. Then she downed it with water from the fountain.

She heard a faint click from the side and she quickly shot up in alarm.

The only possible source of the noise was on her left where a doorway led to the stairway.

But there was nothing or nobody around.

Ugh…her nerves must have been getting the best of her.

First she met Taeyeon, then accidentally fell asleep and woke up here in a dorm located in the middle of nowhere.

And she hadn’t seen anyone else around.

What time was it?  
Wendy headed back to her dorm and turned on the main light. There was a calendar and a clock above the desk.

12AM.

No wonder she hadn’t seen anyone. It was way past bedtime.

Still…wasn’t college life the time when everyone stays up forever?

This wasn’t the way she anticipated to begin college. Instead of pondering over these mysteries, she decided to take a shower (luckily, her dorm had a private bathroom), and then go to sleep. Tomorrow she needed to go to the advisor to pick up her schedule.

\--

\--

First day of school…

Wendy warily roamed the hallways filled with other students she had never seen before. It seemed they were all friends, and a lot of them threw glances in her direction.

Actually, all of them did.

It was very unsettling and she wondered if there was something on her face.

At first she decided to ignore and got through the first day of classes. Luckily, there was only two but the last one finished in late afternoon. She made her way to the nearest bathroom and looked herself over in the mirror. There wasn’t anything worth anyone’s attention except for a stray hair or two sticking up on her head. She patted that down with some water. Still…that shouldn’t be too obvious.

Another thing was she was on her period so she checked to be sure there wasn’t any bleeding through her pants.

None at all.

What a relief. That would have been so embarrassing. Once, it happened in high school and she left a red stain everywhere she went. No one told her and she found out only when she got home. All day she walked around with a red stain on her pants. She felt so humiliated and couldn’t look at anyone the next day, but no one said anything of it so it passed fairly quickly.

Wendy was still in a confused state as she made her way back to the dorm. She wanted to stay away from the prying stares that started up again as soon as she stepped out.

What she didn’t know was that she was being tailed.

“Hey, pretty! We can smell you a mile away.”

She hurried up hoping they’d leave her alone.

“Hey!”

A group of girls and guys surrounded her from all sides.

“You must be new. We’ve never seen you before,” a girl said. “What’s your name?”

“Don’t dabble!” a boy snapped. “Let’s just get down to business.” He smirked and stepped towards Wendy. “You’re flaunting your scent everywhere and driving us nuts. Who do you think you are?”  
“W-what?” Wendy stepped back. “I’m just going back—“

“Oh that’s what you think. You’re taunting us.” Another girl pushed the boy away. “Leave this to me. You have to warm them up first. What’s your name, girlie? Why don’t we go and have a drink together? Break the ice, hm?”

“N-no thanks. I don’t drink. I really have to go.” Wendy tried to push past, but ended up getting grabbed causing her to drop her books. “L-let go!”

“I just love it when they play innocent!” the girl said. “It’s such a turn on.”

“Fany, stop playing around!” the boy said.

The tall girl ignored him and traced her finger along Wendy’s jawline. Then she leaned in close and inhaled deeply. “You smell sweet as candy,” she purred.

Wendy flinched and kicked her shin in defense.

“You didn’t mean that at all, baby,” Tiffany said softly. “Come. I’ll show you—“  
A blur tackled through the circle knocking aside some of the captors. The grip around her disappeared, and then Tiffany was knocked on the floor with another girl pinning her down.

Wendy couldn’t see her face, but she had the most shiny silky black hair she had ever seen.

“What are you doing?” the other girl snarled.  
“Irene! You rarely turn up at this time of day!” Tiffany laughed nervously. “Did her scent attract you too?”

“Fuck off.” The other girl named Irene stood up and loomed over her with a threatening aura.

As soon as she turned, Wendy froze and gulped with fear. The other girl’s face was cold, almost devoid of any expression, and it gave off a murderous vibe. Her eyes were dark like black coffee, and her lips set in a think line. She was shorter than Tiffany, and the sudden nervousness from the taller girl made Wendy think that perhaps Tiffany was also afraid of Irene.

Who wouldn’t?  
The circle was beginning to disperse leaving Tiffany all alone.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

They all turned to find Taeyeon approaching them. “Wendy!” Taeyeon said happily. “How’s your first day?”

“U-uh…alright…I guess.” Seeing her again reminded Wendy that she hadn’t seen her ever since she awoke in the dorm.

“Good. Good. I see you’ve met Irene and Tiffany. They’re both senior undergrads here. I hope they’re being nice.”

“Nice as you’ll ever know!” Tiffany chirped. “Well, I gotta go. Nice to see you, Wendy.”

The younger girl wondered why Taeyeon didn’t say anything about Tiffany’s mouth until she noticed that it no longer showed signs of damage.

What? But she was sure Irene had fired a punch that popped as loud as a rifle.

“You did take the medicine?” Taeyeon broke her from her thoughts.

“O-oh, yes.”

“Good. It might take some time for the effects to kick in. They won’t be able to scent you then.”

Wendy was really confused now. All this talk about scents…what was the meaning of this. As far as she knew about scents, she could only smell the fresh natural air and pine.

“What’s the matter? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.” Taeyeon stood closer and put a hand on her shoulder.

“N-nothing…I’m fine.” Wendy felt uncomfortable because the other girl’s hand lingered on her shoulder.

“Taeyeon,” Irene said curtly. “It is rare to see you.”

“Ah, yes. I’m doing my master's degree here after a bit of touring.” She smiled at Irene, but Wendy could tell that it was a bit forced. “Wendy this is Irene. She is a piano major here, though she rarely hangs around the others. She’s more of a lone wolf, no pun intended.”

The younger girl turned to Irene, who merely glanced at her with a haughty sniff. “I never asked. And I’m perfectly capable of introducing myself, Taeyeon.”

“Well, snappy as always,” Taeyeon sneered. Then she turned to Wendy with a friendly smile. “Maybe I’ll see you around, Wendy.” She pat her head and bid Irene a short farewell.

Wendy and Irene were left alone together.

“T-thanks…” Wendy stammered nervously. She didn’t want to get on anyone’s bad side and it seemed that Irene was a bit irritable.

There was no answer, and she thought the other girl was annoyed until she found herself face to face with her.

Her throat convulsed as she gulped nervously.

Irene was shorter than Tiffany, but taller than her by a few inches—enough to tower over Wendy.

“This is your fault.”

She was too scared to even question her.

“You’re ovulating.”

Irene stepped away. “Don’t expect me to save your butt every time. You got lucky today.”

With that, Wendy was left alone again, and the sun was shining brightly as if nothing happened.

Once she was back in the safety of her dorm, she locked the door, shoved a chair under the knob, and closed the window and curtains. Then she flopped onto the bed and curled with her pillow.

She did not expect her first day of school to be this hectic.

Tiffany and her band of friends almost had her, Taeyeon suddenly reappeared, and now Irene probably hated her guts.

This was awful.

Don't expect me to save your butt every time, Irene's words rang.

Then her cheeks flushed red. Wendy was sure she hadn't bled through her pants...How did Irene know she was on her period?


	2. First Full Moon

The days following that terrible gathering with Tiffany’s gang and Irene, Wendy felt like she needed to be on her guard every moment of the day and every step she took in that school. People still stared at her, some tried to talk to her, mostly guys and ocassionally girls. Taeyeon was nowhere in sight again, and Wendy sort of wished she could see the familiar friendly face again…even if she was touchy.

Honestly, Wendy’s greatest fear was Tiffany, the stalker students, and Irene.

In fact, Wendy was most concerned about Irene…or, perhaps rather curious.

Actually, it was better to say that Wendy kind of wanted to see her again.

Unfortunately, there was no sign of the mysterious scary girl.

As the days passed in the first week, Wendy began to expect that she wouldn’t see Irene. After all, the older girl did seem irritated about saving her.

Today, she decided to study in the library—the classic college student thing to do, she tried to amuse herself amidst the constant discomfort.

Also it seemed students didn’t spend much time here so the privacy was welcome.

It was only the middle of the week, and it felt like hell.

This is your fault, Irene’s words echoed.

Though Wendy still didn’t understand why Irene said that, she was beginning to believe it.

Creepers were still following her, and she could see them spying on her. However, she did notice the attention beginning to lessen especially since her period was over.

Wendy pulled out her music history textbook and a notebook. Exams were administered every four weeks, and she wanted to be prepared. Studying would help distract her from all this madness, and take the edge off things for now.

The first twenty minutes was fine and she was beginning to feel at ease until she felt the microscopic hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

Wendy cautiously looked up from her book and scanned the surroundings.

There wasn’t anyone or anything she could see that posed a potential threat. She shrugged it off and tried to get back into study mode, but she was unable to focus.

Shivers rippled down her spine and her knuckles became ghostly white as she gripped her pen tightly. Though there wasn’t anything in sight, something was off.

Perhaps coming here was a big mistake.

She wasn’t the only one here.

She hoped it wasn’t Tiffany or any of the creepy students who stalked her earlier this week.

Maybe if she waited a few minutes, the cold feeling would go away. It must be her imagination after all the paranoia she had been experiencing.

That was it. Wendy didn’t want to linger alone like this. She packed her things and left the lonely library.

-

By Friday, the fire seemed to die down, as the other students didn’t seem to mind her much anymore. No one was following her or asking her weird questions, and she hadn’t seen Tiffany anywhere luckily. 

“The music books are available in the student store. Just give them the voucher.”

She thanked her teacher and then headed down the hallway. This was her last ‘class’ of the day, and she was quite anxious to get back to her dorm.

Yet, unfortunately, she had to go to a place other students frequented.

It would have to be fast. Anyway, she knew what she needed to get so she would be sure to get out quickly.

“Will that be all?” the cashier asked when she handed out the voucher.

“Yeah.”

“Ok, here you are.”

“Thanks.”

When she turned to leave, her breath caught in her throat when she spotted Irene standing in one of the aisles browsing through some books. Quickly, she hurried out of the store not even turning back in case Irene did see her.

Just as she was so close to getting out, she ran into Taeyeon who was all friendly with smiles. “Hey, Wendy. How’s it going?”

NOOOOOO! Taeyeon was blocking her only escape route!

“I’m alright.” Wendy tried to return the smile through her anxiety.

“Good to hear. Where are you off to?”

“My dorm.”

“Studying?”  
“Yeah.”

“Those girls aren’t bothering you, are they?” she asked.

Wendy gave her a confused look. “You mean Irene and Tiffany?”

“I hope they aren’t being mean.”

“I haven’t seen them,” she replied. It was better not to get into the details. Wendy didn't want to make any more complications than was needed, especially since Irene didn't seem happy about having to save her from Tiffany.

“Good. Have you been taking the pills?”

The younger girl paused because she didn’t take them last night. She was anxious and afraid of walking the halls due to all the stares she had been getting over the first week of school, thus leading to her forgetfulness.

“I did,” she lied.

“That’s good. Keep taking them every night. Things will get better.” Taeyeon pat her head. “I look forward to hearing you play guitar soon.”

With that, Taeyeon walked off, and Wendy quickly hurried back to her dorm.

Things will get better? Yeah, right.

“Hey, are you going to move or are you just gonna waste time barring the way?”

Her breath caught in her throat when she heard the familiar curt tone. She found Irene standing beside her with the slightest of a smirk playing on her lips.

“S-sorry…”

The other girl huffed with either amusement or disdainful amusement. “So are we going to move or what?”

“Excuse me!” someone called sharply.

Irene grabbed Wendy’s arm and dragged her out of the store. “We were just leaving!” she called back.

Wendy was stiff with shock, and all she could do was follow Irene to wherever it was they were going. She hoped Irene wasn’t going to get her for what happened the first day of school.

“W-where are we going?” she finally chanced to ask. They hadn’t stopped and she came to the conclusion that they weren’t going any place she was familiar with.

“Be careful around Taeyeon,” Irene reprimanded her. “You shouldn’t trust her so easily.”

“Why not?” Wendy didn’t trust Taeyeon, but she wondered why Irene was telling her this directly.

“Tch. You shouldn’t even trust me.”

Wendy tried to tug away from Irene. “You’re the one dragging me.”

“Don’t come out past 8 tonight.”

Why wasn’t Irene staying on topic?

“What?” she said.

“Tonight is the full moon. Don’t come out.” Irene finally let go of her. “Don’t even look outside the window.”

She never turned back, and left Wendy standing alone in the middle of campus.

\--

\--

Wendy had just finished her shower and brushed her teeth before going to bed. After having that short walk/talk with Irene, she was feeling quite bothered.

Actually, after the first week of school and meeting Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Irene—no, ever since she got here things were just so weird.

This time, she remembered to take the pills, but she needed to get water from the fountain again. Wendy reminded herself to buy a water bottle from the store next time to save trips outside of her dorm.

It was still early, though the sun had already gone down.

She remembered Irene telling her not to leave after dark. Part of her wanted to think that the older girl was bluffing just to mess with a freshman, but somehow, she felt that the warning ought not to be taken lightly.

Wendy hurriedly took the medicine at the water fountain and rushed back to her room. She checked the lock over three times (everything is good in three’s) and shoved her chair under the knob again just in case. Then, she settled on the bed and opened her book. After all she had gone through this week, Wendy believed she deserved a break for the rest of the evening.

Muffled eerie noises disturbed Wendy, and her eyes quickly snapped open. The noises stopped, but then started again. As she strained to listen, more noises joined in, all different tones and pitch.

Howling.

Wendy crept out of her bed and peeked through the curtains. The moon was shining and full.

Just like Irene said.

However, she couldn’t see much from this side as her window faced the treetops of the forest below and the mountains in the distance.

The howling erupted again sending cold shivers down her back.

Wendy wondered why she never heard howling until now. Were there wolves living close by? Why didn’t the school alert her of taking caution with wildlife?

She glanced at the clock. 12AM.

There were more howls, and they were really close by.

Wolves wouldn’t be able to get here as long as she stayed inside. So, she stepped out of her dorm and wandered to the other windows for anything that might prove what she heard. Most of the windows overlooked empty walkways and the forest, but after a lot of wandering she finally came across something strange.

She was staring out at a courtyard outside the lobby entrance of her dorm. The full moon was shining brightly upon a mass of students, whose eyes were glistening with its light.

Was this some kind of gathering?

But a few seconds later, she saw their eyes—one by one—change color. Some were purple, some green, others red, blue, yellow…

She gaped as one of them turned into a wolf.

And not just any wolf.

These were bigger than the average wolf, maybe the size of a full-grown horse.

One by one, the mass of students morphed into wolves and howled loudly. Since they were so close, the sound met her ears loudly and made the hairs on her skin stand on end.

What was going on?!

They howled for a few moments and then dispersed in all directions.

Wendy gulped nervously and ran back into her dorm, locking the door and shoving her chair under the doorknob like usual. She made sure the windows were all secure and the curtains shut all the way.

What kind of school was this?

What kind of people were attending this school?

Tonight is the full moon. Don't come out...don't even look outside the window, Irene's prior warning rang in her mind.


	3. Settling In

Wendy felt so alienated every time she walked the hallways since the night of the first full moon here.

Is that what Irene meant when she told her not to look out the window?  
There was no way this could be normal. Perhaps this was just a prank for the new students. Yes. That had to be it.

But still, the memory of their shining eyes, the way their bodies morphed into ferocious beasts clung onto her. It disturbed her, and followed her all through school so that she had a difficult time focusing.

Her private teacher also noticed her stagnant progress.

“Is anything the matter?” her guitar teacher asked.

“I’m fine.”

“You’ve become absent and you haven’t improved since last week. What’s bothering you?”

Wendy sighed and stared at her fingers. “I…I’ve been having a hard time sleeping.”  
“You’re homesick,” he concluded.

She didn’t answer. There was no way anyone would believe what she saw.

“I will talk with the headmaster. Maybe there is something we can do.”

“I’m fine, honestly. I just need time.”

“Ah, but we don’t have much time. We will take care of this as soon as possible.”

She glanced at her teacher warily. “How?”

“We need to get back on track.” He pointed to a section of the music they were looking at. “Now here, I want you to hold the last note of the phrase a little bit longer.”

Wendy managed to get through the rest of the lesson without frustrating her teacher, but she still felt a bit disconcerted over everything she had experienced until this point.

Professors were supposed to be there for their students, so maybe something good would come out of this.

When she retired to her dorm that afternoon, she found a box outside of the door. Once she was back in her room, she opened it and found a new bottle of pills with a note attached.

Prescription changed. Please take these every night.

She sighed. Was this the solution to her problem? More pills?

Wendy tossed the old bottle and then took the new pill before going to take a shower.

The hot water cascading over her body felt nice. She was glad that she hadn’t run any hostile faces. She had seen Tiffany from a distance, and Irene was nowhere to be seen. Taeyeon also seemed to be a bit of a mystery as she was rarely seen on campus. Perhaps she was busy with her graduate studies.

After her shower, she studied for a little bit more, and then made sure everything was locked before going to bed.

\--

As the days passed, Wendy began to feel more comfortable in the school. She didn’t even recall much of the night of the full moon, only that it was something usual, but she let it pass.

Actually, she felt great. She was progressing in her studies, and she was able to get through her first set of exams with flying colors.

Why did she ever worry before?

She was safe here.

Tiffany hadn’t come to bother her. Everyone else treated her in a friendly manner, and she was finally making acquaintances with her classmates.

Things were well…

Until she ran into Irene again.

The older girl stopped right in front of her and stared down at her. “I see you’re less scared now,” she commented. “Lots of friend you’ve made.”

Wendy met her gaze, and realized that Irene was even scarier up close and personal like this. “Y-yeah, so?” she stammered.

The latter didn’t look too happy, and crossed her arms over her chest. She simply stared at her, then leaned down close as she took a whiff of Wendy’s scent.

“So that’s how it went, didn’t it?” she muttered to no one in particular.

“W-what?”

“When was your last period?”

“Eh?”

“Your period, dummy. When?”

Wendy backed away from her. “Why do you want to know?” she tried to sound fierce, but her voice was too shaky.

Irene’s upper lip curled in distaste. “Don’t you dare run from me. I’d find you in a second.”

“L-leave me alone!” Wendy cried out. “I didn’t do anything to you! What do you want from me?”

She heard growling (like a wolf’s), and she glanced around until she realized that the source was from Irene.

Wendy looked up in alarm, fearing that perhaps what happened on the full moon would happen in front of her, and Irene might attack her. However, Irene’s attention was averted to something behind her.

“Hello, girls.”

She spun around to find Taeyeon walking towards them coolly.

“Fancy finding you with her again, Irene,” Taeyeon continued. “Wendy, is she bothering you?”

The younger girl didn’t answer because she didn’t want to make more trouble between them.

“On the contrary,” Irene snarled. “You’re bothering us.”

Taeyeon laughed and threw an arm around Wendy’s shoulders. “Irene. Irene. Irene. Are you looking for a fight?”

The other girl said nothing, but her eyes burned furiously. With one last glance at Wendy, she turned away and disappeared around the corner.

“There. Everything is alright now, Wendy,” Taeyeon said in a gentler tone.

But Wendy didn’t even acknowledge her. She continued staring at the empty space Irene once stood just seconds ago. Why was she mad?

Most of all, she felt a loss inside of her…like she wanted the scary girl to stay.

“Hey, are you ok?”

“I-I’m fine,” Wendy was shaken from her thoughts.

“Good.” Taeyeon gave her a reassuring smile. “I haven’t seen you for a while. How are your classes?”

“They’re good.”

The older girl’s hand slid down Wendy’s arm and she squeezed the younger girl’s hand. “I’m glad to hear that. I’m sorry that I’ve been missing lately. I’ll be around more often.”

Wendy inwardly squirmed and managed to get her hand away from the other girl. “It’s ok really. I’m sure you’re busy.”

“Yes, but I don’t want people like Irene to bother you when I’m not around.”

“She wasn’t bothering me,” Wendy pointed out.

“You don’t need to stand up for her,” Taeyeon became a bit stern. “Be careful around her. I don’t trust her.”

Wendy decided not to question her, as it appeared she was already grumpy after encountering Irene.

She recalled that Irene had also said not to trust—but she said not to trust anybody.

As soon as the memory returned, it disappeared.

“Are you taking your pills?” Taeyeon asked.

“Yeah.”

“That’s good. It’s very important to take them everyday.”

“I won’t forget,” Wendy assured her.

“Good. Well, I must be going. Perhaps I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Wendy didn’t see Irene the rest of the day. She was glad because she didn’t want to answer the other girl’s question. What right did Irene have to demand her menstrual calendar?

But she shook off the events of the day and finished her homework. Then, the young girl took the medicine and went to bed. She didn’t even bar the door with the chair tonight, though she did close the curtains.

\--

“I’m so pleased with your progress,” Wendy’s guitar teacher said. “Has the medicine been helping?”

“I guess so.”  
“Good.”

They continued the lesson, and the teacher was very happy with the work she was doing on the pieces. He even commented that she had great potential to maintain a performing career.

Wendy smiled to herself.

Things were much better now.

Once the lesson was over, she headed back to her dorm to put away her things and then study. But, she was thirsty so she went to the water fountain to get a drink.

Unfortunately (and with much surprise, shock, and dismay), Tiffany just happened to be there. It must have been pure chance or else—

“Hey there, cutie!” Tiffany gushed.

Wendy noted that she was alone this time, but nobody else was around either.

“T-Tiffany,” she greeted her respectfully.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? What were you up to?” Tiffany strode up to her confidently, all while wearing a bright friendly smile. “I had a hard time catching your sweet candy scent.”

The younger girl instinctively backed away. Her mind instantly began working methods of escape, except she didn’t think she would be able to get away fast enough. She was short, while Tiffany was as tall as a skyscraper.

“Oh, baby,” she purred. “Why don’t we go where it is more comfortable? I’ll take good care of you.”

“On the contrary,” another voice cut in. “I believe it is I that will be taking care of her.”

Wendy whipped around to find that it was none other than Irene.

How were they all finding her?!

There was seriously no privacy here with all these sunbaes following her unexpectedly.

“Oh, Irene!” Tiffany chortled. “What a coincidence! This is just like déjà vu! All three of us! Again!” She cackled crazily leaving Wendy very confused and afraid, and Irene very not amused.

The breath caught in Wendy’s throat when she felt herself yanked backwards and away from the tall crazy girl.

Irene merely stared down the taller girl until her laughs died away nervously. “You can’t start a fight here. Anyway, I have an entire pack to sic on a loner like you!”

“I can fight them off in my sleep,” Irene growled in response. “Anyway, I just need you to go away.”

“Oh, so you can claim that sweet puppy for yourself?” Tiffany smirked. “Anyway, Taeyeon’s been hinting at us all that Wendy is hers. You really shouldn’t steal what belongs to the Arcane Alpha.”

“Wendy belongs to nobody as far as I know.”

Tiffany guffawed. “We’ll see about that. You know what happened last time.”

Irene’s expression wavered for a moment, but her cold emotion returned quickly. “There’s no need to remind me.”

“Then stop staking your claim on Wendy. I can smell you on her.”

Irene smirked this time. “I can also smell you on her as well.”

The two older girls stared each other down, silently challenging the other until Tiffany decided to retreat.

“Know this, Irene!” she hissed. “This isn’t over, and I’m sure Taeyeon will be hot on your trail. A mutt like you can’t match the strength of a purebred Arcane!”

Irene said nothing, her eyes chips of ice as she gave Tiffany a deathly glare.

Tiffany gave them one last glance. “I’ll be back for you, Wendy,” she purred, and then made her leave.

Irene growled in response, and grabbed Wendy’s arm. The younger girl protested as Irene dragged her away from her dorm.

“W-where are we going?” Wendy’s voice quavered.

The other girl never answered, and Wendy didn’t want to try to escape. She had seen what Irene was capable of. Moreover, she didn’t want to make an enemy of Irene.

It seemed that this senior was watching out for her somehow…or perhaps she was trying to find ways to make Wendy pay back for the first rescue.

They entered the elevator, and Irene pressed the button for the 9th floor.

“Irene?” she tried again. “Where are w-we…?”

“Quiet. We’ll talk, but not here.”

\--To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Irene slipped the keycard into the lock and the door opened with a click. She pushed Wendy inside and then locked the door behind them. “Sit,” Irene pointed to the single bed in the room. Her hand was still attached to Wendy’s arm probably to make sure the younger girl wouldn’t attempt to run away.

There wasn’t an option for escape anyway.

And Tiffany could be lurking anywhere.

She just hoped that Irene wouldn’t make that awful growling noise. Or worse, since they were alone, the scary girl could turn and attack.

Wendy assumed that Irene must be like the entire group of morphed wolves she saw the on night of the full moon. Tiffany and Taeyeon…she wasn’t sure, but it could be possible—though she hadn’t detected a sign of Taeyeon being like them.

Speaking of Taeyeon, she hadn’t seen her too much, maybe a few times during her break between classes, but that was about it. Their conversations were mostly about her adjustment to school and if she was taking the pills periodically. Sometimes, Taeyeon asked if Irene was ‘bothering’ her, but Wendy always said no. She was afraid that Taeyeon might make trouble with Irene.

“You really do like to play victim, don’t you?” Irene said with a convicting tone.

The younger girl shook her head. “I didn’t know Tiffany was there!”

“Didn’t I say I wouldn’t be around to save your butt all the time?” Irene demanded.

“I never asked for your help,” Wendy retorted.

Irene huffed in annoyance. “There’s no way you could have defended yourself anyway.”

“Oh yeah?” Wendy challenged.

But in barely a half a second, she lay winded on the bed with Irene hovering above her. The tips of their noses brushed ever so slightly, and Irene’s dark eyes burned into hers. “Do you want to try?” Irene sneered.

Wendy returned the glare and squirmed around to escape, but Irene sat on her torso and pinned her wrists over her head.

“Wendy, listen to me,” Irene growled. “Do you even know why you’re here?”

“What the hell? To get an education!” she replied in exasperation.

“Sure. Sure. That’s what they want you to think.”

“Let me go!” Wendy struggled again.

Irene was still the stronger one as she restrained the smaller girl easily. “You’re too naïve for your own good. Didn’t I tell you not to trust anybody?”

“I don’t trust you!”

“But you’d trust Taeyeon, right? Why? Because she brought you here the first day? Because she told you something about me?” Irene demanded angrily.

Wendy managed to break one arm free and she slapped Irene across the face. The sound echoed in the dimness of the room…and everything was quiet.

Irene’s face was hidden with her dark locks, and she released her grip before sitting back, still straddling the younger girl.

The younger girl gaped at her in alarm, not even believing herself of what she had done. “I’m so sorry!”

“You have no idea what’s really going on here,” Irene said more quietly. “Do you know why they make you take those pills?”  
“I-isn’t it for immunization?”

The older girl shook her head. “How long have you been here?”

Wendy had to stop to think for a moment, but found she couldn’t really recall when she had come here. All she thought was that she was here a long time.

“Where do you live?” Irene asked again.

“…Here?” Wendy guessed.

Irene looked into her eyes, this time the dark pupils were filled with something that wasn’t fiery distaste. “You’ve been here for almost three months, Wendy.”

“Why are you telling me this?” she said doubtfully.

“Because you need to remember who you are.” Irene got off her and sat cross-legged on the bed. “They’re brainwashing you with the pills. The longer you take them, you’ll forget everything you once knew and become their puppet.”

Wendy slowly sat up. “H-how do you know this?”

“I was like you once. I knew nothing. I took the pills, I went to class, I talked with all sorts of people, including the person who brought me here. At the time, she was an undergrad senior. I had no idea that I was targeted to become the alpha’s mate. She would turn me into one of them and then make me bear her child.”  
“Her child?” Wendy questioned in disbelief. A girl couldn’t impregnate another girl! She thought indignantly.

But Irene ignored her as she continued her story. “Not everyone takes the pills. Only select students. My friends did not take the pills. They were the ones who noticed I was changing.”

“I don’t need your sob story!” Wendy suddenly snapped. “Are you trying to say that this school is some sort of a cult?”

Irene’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “This isn’t a sob story! It’s the truth!”

“Tch! Well, you told me not to trust anyone, so for all I know you could be lying!”

“This is the truth! I’m trying to save you!” Irene argued. “If you want to keep your sanity you better stop taking those pills, and stick with me!” She quickly had Wendy pinned beneath her again. “Or do you want Tiffany to take your virginity?” she snarled threateningly. “Do you want Taeyeon to turn you into one of them and take your virginity? I won’t be there to save you then.”

She didn’t like the way this sounded. Irene was telling her things that made no sense…things that would only exist in a fantasy story. 

“We are nothing alike,” Wendy muttered.

Irene’s lips twitched and she released her grip. “Stay with me if you value your identity, you idiot.”

Irene didn’t let Wendy go back to her own dorm.

She concluded that the older girl didn’t trust her to obey.

Wendy wasn’t even sure who or what to believe now.

This all sounded too weird and out of this world. This could not be real.

But did anything make sense? What about the students becoming wolves the night of the full moon? And Irene knowing about her menstrual cycle? And Tiffany talking about how she smelled sweet as candy…

And all that talk about the pills, and scents…

Wendy also couldn’t believe that she was sharing a bed with Irene tonight.

Worst of all, the senior’s bed was up against the wall, and Wendy was wedged between the wall and a body.

There was no way she could escape.

Every time she moved, Irene growled in irritation.

She hadn’t even agreed to let Irene become her protector.

Ultimately, she wondered why Irene was taking a particular interest in her out of everyone in the entire school.

\--

“I barely got any sleep last night because of you,” the older girl grumbled the next morning when Wendy finished brushing her teeth. “Do you always sleep like that?”

“Well you insisted that I stay with you,” Wendy retorted.

Irene tossed a bundle of clothing at her. “Use these.”

She pulled them from her face and glanced at the set. “They’re too big.”

“Nonsense. Just wear it.”

“I could go back to my dorm.”

“And let you escape?” Irene raised an eyebrow. “Absolutely not. Now change. Right now.”

Wendy waited for Irene to leave, but she never did.

“Well?”

“I need some privacy,” she said in a softer tone because she was embarrassed.

Irene smirked. “There’s nothing worth looking at.” Her expression became cold. “Now take off your clothes and put those on. Or do you need me to help you?”

Offended, Wendy threw the clothes in Irene’s face, and stomped to the door without even looking back. “Why do you insist on being around me when you clearly hate me?” Wendy stormed to her own dorm to change.

Wendy was comfortably dressed in her own clothes, and getting ready to go to her class this morning. Tch. She didn’t need Irene to guard her every step. The older girl was probably just trying to mess with her.

Yet as soon as she opened the door, Irene was standing in the way and already pushing her way in. “Don’t ever do that again,” the older girl growled and shut the door.

“I’m trying to get to class.”

Irene glared at her. “Class is not important.” She pushed Wendy back against the bed so that she fell onto the mattress. Then she eyed the pill bottle. Anger filled her eyes and she swiped the medication on the way to the bathroom.

“Hey!” Wendy cried and went after her. “What are you doing?”

The sound of the toilet flushing answered her question.

“How could you?”

Irene tossed the empty bottle in the trash. “I told you. The pills are brainwashing you into thinking that everything is ok when it actually isn’t.”

“Maybe because you don’t like anything,” Wendy grumbled.

“Very good observation,” Irene replied sarcastically. “But don’t worry, Wen-Wen. You’ll see that I’m right.”

“Don’t bet on it.”

“I don’t need to.” Irene grabbed Wendy’s things and then clutched her hand. “I need to get my stuff and I’ll bring you to class.”

Wendy tried to tug away. “I don’t need you to escort me.”

“Yes, you do,” Irene replied calmly. “Do you want Tiffany to bother you again?”

That shut the smaller girl up quick.

Well…if Irene was intent on sticking around, she may as well appreciate the fact that there was someone to protect her.


	5. Chapter 5

Stares burned into them as they passed by wherever people populated campus. Irene seemed not to care, but Wendy was very uncomfortable. All she wanted to do was hide, but there was no way she going to let Irene make fun of her for being scared.

The only time Wendy felt better was during class because it was the only time Irene wasn’t around.

As she thought, she was fated to spend all her time out of class with Irene.

And Irene was always waiting, always watching, and always cutting in to keep Wendy away from her colleagues whenever they tried to talk with her.

The older girl even waited for her outside the practice room. When Irene practiced, Wendy had to sit inside with her so she used that time to study.

Irene did play piano very well though.

That was the only time Irene was not glaring death at anybody. In fact, her expression became more serene as her fingers danced over the ivory keys.

The piano was old, but Irene made it sound like silver bells (though intonation was questionable. The pianos were in dire need of tuning).

When they ate lunch and dinner, Irene appeared to be watching Wendy eat the majority of the time and it made her squirm with discomfort.

What made it worse was the fact that passersby stopped and stared and pointed them out.

Wendy chanced a glance at the older girl, who merely returned it briefly and swallowed the last of her sandwich. “Hurry up,” she commanded. “I need to buy something from the store.”

And Wendy quickly gulped down her food with water and was trying not to throw up from having eaten too quickly while Irene was shopping around the bookstore for a textbook.

Either Irene didn’t notice at all, or she was heartless and letting Wendy suffer silently.

Finally, the day was over. Wendy was never so happy to finally get to go back to the comfort of her solitary room—as long as Irene wasn’t staying over of course.

“As much as I want to keep you under watch, I’ll let you stay here tonight. I don’t want you to keep me up with all that tossing and turning. I’ll meet you tomorrow morning,” Irene said when they were in Wendy’s dorm. “8AM sharp.”

The older girl had made sure that there was no trace of anymore pills or medications in Wendy’s room. She literally turned the whole place over and even stayed until late tonight to be sure that there were no medicine deliveries.

The poor freshman felt like she couldn’t breathe until Irene finally left.

She felt like her whole body had been trapped in a suffocating cage under the tyranny of Irene Bae.

And so concluded the first time Wendy spent her day with Irene.

\--

The next day wasn’t any better though. Wendy made sure she was ready before Irene, but the older girl was still as bossy as ever. Why does she like to push me around? Wendy cried inwardly.

Irene grabbed her wrist without even waiting and nearly closed the door on Wendy’s foot. She didn’t even say sorry.

Where did they have to be in such a rush?

Well, it turned out, Irene wanted to go drop something off at her professor’s office hours for review. Ugh…why couldn’t she do it on her own time? Wendy thought glumly as she stood awkwardly outside the office but still within range of Irene.

Then, they went to eat breakfast because they didn’t have class until late morning. People stared again. And Wendy found it difficult to swallow the already dry biscuit she had selected. The bacon was too crispy and she kept choking on herself.

Irene chided her once again to hurry up though there was substantial time to get there.

The food went to the trash mostly because Wendy had no appetite and Irene dragged her to her math class.

“I’ll be back. I promise,” Irene told her as if in warning. They waited outside together until the professor arrived.

But during that time, everyone stared at them together. Unknown to Wendy, rumors were spread about Irene (lots that we will find out later), and they knew that Irene was not very keen on being around the other students.

Irene gave her one last pointed look, as if challenging her to even disobey her at the end of class.

This happened throughout the day, and Wendy also noticed that Irene held onto her hand even when they weren’t going anywhere.

On the third day, one of Wendy’s classmates, Krystal Jung, approached her to do groupwork for their literature class. Being sensible, Wendy said yes because the teacher gave them impossible amounts to finish before the end of class.

She was right. Between her and Krystal (two great minds!), they finished right when class ended.

“Thanks,” Krystal said. “You’re pretty smart. Do you wanna study together?”

“Um…no thanks.” Wendy preferred to study alone, but she also remembered that Irene would probably be against the idea.

Why am I taking Irene into consideration?

As soon as they walked out of the classroom, Wendy saw Irene, and she saw the look of displeasure on the older girl’s face. Deciding to avoid any conflict, she tried to quickly say goodbye to Krystal, but she kept talking and Irene literally appeared before them in a second.

“Well, what have we here?” Irene said with accusing tone.

“Oh, hi,” Krystal said. “You must be Irene.” She glanced at Wendy. “You two have been the talk of the century.”  
“Nice to know,” Irene said sarcastically and crossed her arms over her chest. “I believe you may take your leave now.”

“Sure. Sure. We were just talking anyway.” Krystal began to walk away. “See you around, Wendy.”  
She didn’t even have to look to know Irene was upset. The older girl simply dragged her away to an empty part of campus and shoved her against the wall. “Don’t do that,” she growled. “If you want to talk with someone do it when I’m around.”

“I’m not a baby!” Wendy snapped. “I can take care of myself!”

Irene snorted. “Whatever. Let’s just go.” She stomped away, but Wendy didn’t follow her. “Well?” she demanded.

Wendy sighed in defeat and followed her albeit grudgingly.

“Next time, there will be consequences,” the older girl growled.

\--

Wendy just about had enough. It was barely even a week, but she was ready to tell Irene off. So what if she was scary and mean? So what if she was a senior? Wendy was entitled to her own rights and privacy. Plus, Irene was the one who invaded her room and tossed the pills.

She had every right to be upset with Irene.

As soon as class let out, Wendy was prepared to give Irene a piece of her mind.

That is…until she saw Tiffany waiting outside, and Irene nowhere in sight.

Fear filled every part of her body and soul. Shivers rippled down her spine and she tried to hide with the crowd, but Tiffany saw her.

“Oh, Wendy!” the tall girl gushed. “I’ve been looking all over for you! Your sweet, sweet scent is returning for me!”

She tried to ignore her and the fear filling her mind as she walked the opposite direction. Unfortunately, Tiffany grabbed her arm to tug her back. “Awwww, baby, why are you running away?”

“Hands off, Fany.”

Wendy gaped when Taeyeon appeared out of nowhere. Her expression was neutral, but her eyes spoke a warning of ‘hands off or pay with your life’.

Taeyeon separated them from each other and stood between them. “Mind your own business, Hwang Miyoung. This girl is off limits to the likes of you,” she snarled.

Tiffany smirked and laughed crazily. “I was just playing around.”

Taeyeon was short, but she still had the viciousness of a hulking Rottweiler (not quite to the extent of Irene’s K9-Police-German-Shepherd savageness). She continued wearing a straight face and suddenly started laughing with the crazy Tiffany and then landed a punch right in her gut.

Tiffany’s eyes bugged out, the breath literally stripped from her as she keeled over. She huffed and puffed for air. “Y-y-you…”  
“Don’t mess with me, Tiffany,” Taeyeon snarled. “You already know your place so stay there.”

The taller girl sneered at them. “Just you wait, bitch. The throne won’t always be yours.” And with that, she escaped the premises.

“Sorry about that,” Taeyeon turned to her. “I—“ her expression turned into puzzlement. “Have you been hanging around with Irene?” she asked a bit stiffly.

“Um…”  
“She’s been making it impossible for me to have some peace and quiet,” Irene interrupted.

Taeyeon’s expression alit strangely and she turned to face the other girl.“Oh, Irene. You don’t have to take things so personally. She’s only a freshman.”  
Irene scoffed. “As if that’s a valid argument. There hasn’t been any peace ever since she stepped on campus.” She gave Taeyeon a challenging look before taking Wendy’s hand. “If you’ll excuse us—“

“Hold it!” Taeyeon said sharply. “What is that?” she pointed to their joined hands.

“Wendy and I have arrangements for the rest of today,” she told her. “In fact, the rest of the year. So see you around.”  
“You don’t have to make her your problem.”

“She owes me.”

“Wendy, if she’s bullying you, I can teach her a lesson or two,” Taeyeon said.

The younger girl glanced at Irene, who was watching her, challenging her to say something against her.

“N-no, we were going together,” Wendy replied carefully.

“See?” Irene smirked at Taeyeon.

The graduate student gave them a suspicious look before nodding. “Well…be careful. Have you been taking your pills?”

Wendy hoped Taeyeon would believe her when she said yes. She hadn’t been taking them thanks to Irene, but she didn’t feel any different than before. Perhaps it was too early to tell…if Irene was right anyway.

“We’ll have to be even more careful,” Irene muttered as she marched them across campus. “Your scent is becoming strong again. If they can find you so quickly, we’ll have to get you something…” she trailed off and never finished the thought.

They ended up at the library because Irene needed to borrow a book. Just like the first time, it was empty of people and gave off that Beauty and the Beast mansion eeriness. Irene pushed Wendy to the corner. “Wait here.” And she stalked off to find the book.

It was too quiet in here, and Wendy didn’t like to be alone. She glanced at the clock, wondering why it seemed like the hands were taking an eternity to move.

After a few seconds, Wendy glanced from the shelves for Irene but didn’t see her anywhere. She tiptoed slowly, careful not to let her feet scuff the carpet. This was crazy. Irene was treating her poorly and leaving her alone in dark places, commanding her like some slave.

Well, Irene must be dumb if she thought Wendy would wait for her. The girl had enough of the older girl’s crap and was ready to make her grand escape.

Wendy tiptoed to the next shelf, ducking down hidden from sight, and she crept down the aisle closer to the entrance.

Just when she thought she would make it, a weight yanked her backwards and hooked her legs from beneath so that she lay winded on her back.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Irene snarled only fractions of a centimeter above her face.


	6. Evaluation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING FOR CONTENT: Attempted rape/abuse. READ AT OWN RISK

Wendy gulped beneath Irene’s burning glare.

“Didn’t I tell you to wait?” she demanded.

“I…I don’t like the dark!” she whispered urgently in protest.

Irene’s eyes narrowed but she released only momentarily before latching onto her hand. She dragged Wendy through the aisles in search of the book, which was an old textbook on music from the Romantic era. When she finally found the book, they went to the front to borrow it and left the dark library.

“How do you sleep if you don’t like the dark?”

“I’m sleeping,” Wendy told her. “Not awake.”

“Makes no difference to me,” Irene replied. “You should stay with me in that case.”

“Wait, but you said—“

“You’re sleeping on the floor.”

How cruel! Wendy was getting fed up with Irene’s bad attitude. “You know what, Irene?” she yanked her arm away and the older girl.

Irene raised an eyebrow seemingly indifferent to her burst of anger. “No. I don’t.”

“Stop treating me like trash!” Wendy snapped. “I’m so done with this whole thing!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Irene replied calmly. “If anything, you should be thanking me for saving your dumb butt loads of times.”

“You could at least treat me better!” Wendy spat. “All you do is drag me around on a leash!”

Irene suddenly frowned. “Am I?”

“Yes, and I’m done with you, Irene!” Wendy stomped away.

She expected Irene to come running after her, but surprisingly that did not happen.

Wendy stormed back to her dorm and locked it. She shoved the chair under the doorknob and hid in the closet.

Irene was a big pain the . She was a jerk. She was a tyrant. Hah! Trying to protect her? Yeah, right.

Her sudden rage burned off rather quickly, and she suddenly regretted what she said to Irene. She shouldn’t have snapped at her senior. Maybe Irene was trying to help, but—

NO! She was being mean to you since day one. When has she shown you compassion?

The next morning, Wendy woke up bright and early just like the usual. She quickly prepared for her classes and waited for Irene to come and knock on the door.

10 minutes after 8 and she hadn’t arrived.

There was a knock, but it wasn’t the punctual sharp 5-times-knock of Irene.

She yanked the door open and instead found Taeyeon standing there.

“Hi,” the grad student said brightly.

“Um…hi,” Wendy replied a bit warily. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I’m here to walk you,” Taeyeon said with a smile on her face. “I’ve heard that Irene has been unnecessarily taking you under her wing, but don’t worry. She won’t be bothering us anymore.” She watched her sympathetically. “I’m sorry if she’s been mean to you. Irene has a bit of an attitude problem.”

“She wasn’t mean to me,” Wendy quickly defended Irene. Why am I trying to be nice when all Irene’s even done is yank me around like a dog? She wondered to herself.

“That’s good, but still, I don’t like her around you.” Taeyeon tugged Wendy out of the room and shut the door for her. “Do you need help with your things?”

“No, thanks. I’m fine.”

“Have you been taking your pills?” Taeyeon asked.

“Yeah.”

Taeyeon stared at her for a moment before saying. “Are you sure? Your scent is rather strong.”

“Uh…what?”

“Nevermind. Come. We must get going.”

They walked out of the dorm building and took the walk onto the main campus. However, when Wendy tried to go the direction of her class, Taeyeon did not let her.

“W-wait, I’ve got to…”

“You’ve been excused in advance,” Taeyeon said.

Wendy tried to tug back. “R-really…I need to go. I don’t want to miss class.”  
“Ah, a dedicated student. Such perfect qualities,” Taeyeon said and tugged her so suddenly against her that Wendy could not pull back. The older girl was very strong to her surprise.

“W-where are we going?” Wendy stammered.

“Oh, don’t worry. Everything will be ok.”

They were walking to a part of campus Wendy had never known, and nobody was around. They turned a corner and took a left where there were seemingly abandoned buildings and sheds, and a dark alleyway that they were heading to.

“Why are you taking me there?” Wendy shivered.

“Silly, we’re going in the building!” Taeyeon chuckled. “It’s safe. Trust me.”

She still pulled backwards, not wanting to go in. Something seemed fishy about it, but when Taeyeon turned to her, something changed briefly. As soon as their eyes met, Wendy felt herself falling…asleep but not really asleep…She felt like her mind was beginning to shut down and she wanted to let herself fall into the…the crimson redness that were staring deeply into her eyes.

She didn’t know how to describe it.

“Wendy,” Taeyeon purred. “Don’t look away. This is important.”

The younger girl shook her head and shut her eyes, tugging away again. “Taeyeon, please let me go back!”

“I will…after we do this.” Taeyeon pulled her into the building.

Wendy heard the lock click.

Too late.

Taeyeon turned to her again, but her eyes were normal. “Don’t be afraid, Wendy. No one is getting hurt. I want you to trust me. Whatever Irene has told you is a lie.” She smiled softly at her. “Now, puppy, everything is going to be ok.”

Wendy hadn’t realized that she was pressed into a corner without escape. She squirmed and protested, but Taeyeon lifted her chin up in one hand, and kept her in place.

“Look into my eyes now, Wendy,” Taeyeon said. “Trust me. This is the only way you’ll fit in this school.” Her eyes glowed deep crimson red as she leaned in closer. “To become one of us.”

A soft whimper escaped Wendy’s throat. She couldn’t look away, but she didn’t want to be trapped like this. She fought to fight the invisible chains that were freezing her.

However, Taeyeon had her trapped, and she couldn’t keep those red eyes from dilating into her mind.

“It’s evaluation day today, and I must prepare you,” Taeyeon continued huskily. She inhaled deeply. “You haven’t been taking your pills…though I do love your sweet scent.”

Wendy felt her entire body, her will, her mind succumbing to Taeyeon no matter how hard she tried to fight it.

“Don’t fight me, darling,” Taeyeon purred. “You’re soon to be mine. Now sleep!”

And everything fell into a terrible darkness.

\--

Wendy awoke in a very cold and dark place. She could hear the faint sounds of whirring machines, but other than that, it was quiet as the night.

She shivered and groaned. Did I sleep? Where am I?

The young girl tried to remember anything that happened before now, but she couldn’t seem to recall much except that Taeyeon walked her to class supposedly.

Her limbs felt a bit sore, so she attempted to stretch…only to find that she could not move.

Wendy struggled again beginning to realize that she was restrained!  
“Oh, she’s awake.”

“H-hello?” she croaked out. “Where am I? Can you help me?”

“Of course I can.”

A single bright light erupted above her, blinding her shortly.

“Ah, you are as pretty as she says.” A warm gloved hand rested on her naked—

Wait…NAKED?!

“Why am I naked?!” Wendy wailed aloud in alarm. “Oh my god! What is going on?!”

The other presence was wearing nurse scrubs, but her face was concealed with a mask that only revealed her yellow eyes. “Now dear, don’t be alarmed. This is all part of your induction to the school.”  
Wendy gulped, goosebumps rising along her flesh.

The nurse eye smiled at her. “Don’t be afraid. You’ll like it, and for you, it’s a weekly evaluation. Arcane’s orders.”  
“What?”

“But to make sure you don’t make a mess.” The nurse raised up a needled to the light. It’s tip glinted, fresh and fully filled with syrum. She gently rubbed Wendy’s bare tummy supposedly comforting, and then wiped her upper arm with alcohol before injecting the serum.

It only took moments to find out what that was.

Wendy could not move after five seconds.

“W-what are you doing to me?” she whispered shakily.

“Your scent is very strong,” the nurse ignored her. “We must prescribe new medication. Now hush, deary. I’m going to examine you.”

“Don’t touch me!” Wendy said sharply.

But the nurse acted as if she hadn’t heard. Invasive hands pressed on her abs, and then traveled up to her shoulders, brushing her nipples along the way. The feeling caused Wendy’s nippless to harden, which the nurse noticed. To Wendy’s dismay the nurse cupped her breasts and pinched her nipples. “Perfect,” the nurse whispered.

No…no! Wendy could not move. She could not protest. What the kind of exam is this?!

Her eyes widened when the clasps on her ankles gone, but the nurse was spreading her legs wide open.

“Sweet…honey…” the nurse purred similar Tiffany did. But this obviously wasn’t Tiffany since her voice seemed more girly than the nurse, who was just robotic and creepy.

Wendy felt tears slipping out as the nurse’s fingers inched nearer up her thigh.

I…Irene…

And in a loud boom and a lot of flying debris, the nurse’s hands were detached from Wendy’s skin. All the lights , and there was a lot of growling, snarling, and sounds of ripping, sounds of liquid droplets staining the floor.

This was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare. The loud noice was like those devices in Inception to activate wakefulness.

Then, she felt gentler hands freeing her wrists from the table.

She chanced to open her eyes, the light spilling and hurting her eyes from being in the dark too long.

It was Irene in physical form.

Wendy whimpered softly because she could not express how relieved she was to see her.

The latter simply stared at her with the most icy blue eyes she had ever seen. She raised a hand, and Wendy’s eyes fearfully darted to it. She expected something bad to happen. Maybe Irene was angry that she had to save her again...after Wendy snapped at her yesterday.

But she was wrong. Instead, Irene was wiping away Wendy’s shed tears. Then, without saying a word she wrapped Wendy’s body with gigantic blanket and carried her into the night away from the cursed place. Wendy wrapped her arms around the older girl’s neck and shut her eyes, hiding into Irene’s shoulder because she was afraid the world would see her in such a pitiful state.

\--To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

“There was a disruption.”

“What?”

“That stupid mutt broke in during the evaluation.”

Red eyes glowed with fresh anger. “She never could be tamed. That little cunt. Have you ordered new pills?”

“Yes.”

“Good. We can’t have Wendy realizing anything, especially if Irene has been hanging around her.”

“What do we do about Irene?”

“Oh, leave her to me,” Taeyeon said darkly. “She can’t defeat me. After last time, she should be terrified of my strength.”

“What about the girl?”

“Wendy? Don’t worry. She’s soft as a mouse. I can dominate her easily.”

\-- 

Irene gently laid Wendy on the bed. “Are you ok?” she asked softly.

But Wendy was still in shock and barely heard her question. Irene cupped her chin with one hand and gazed down at her with concern. “Wendy?”

She locked eyes with Irene, and the senior leaned in and gently scented along her cheek, then her neck, and then her shoulder, nose brushing along her flesh every now and then.

“Did they hurt you?” Irene asked again.

The younger girl was a discombobulated and confused. Why was Irene suddenly being so gentle and worried?

Did she really care?  
Wendy stared past Irene. She was still naked. She was still unable to move because of that mysterious serum the nurse injected her with. At least she could move her head, and her arms—though that was a bit of an effort.

She was still shaken with the notion that the nurse would have touched her without her consent. It replayed in her mind almost as real as it was when she was trapped in that darkened room.

Where had Taeyeon gone?

How did she get in that scary place?  
Wendy shut her eyes tight trying to eliminate the nightmare, but it was on constant autoplay. Cold shivers rippled down her entire body as she remembered the creepy nurse’s hands touching her bare skin.

Irene’s hand on her cheek cut into her thoughts and she found herself staring into icy blue eyes again.

Gradually, she felt a strange calm settling in her chest. All bad thoughts were draining out of her mind, and she was beginning to feel a bit drowsy.

“You’re tired, Wen-Wen,” Irene murmured. “Take a long rest.”

Irene’s sky blue eyes began to fill her entire vision much like Taeyeon’s red eyes did, and Wendy fought to hold onto wakefulness. What if she ended up in a strange place again? What if Irene had plans to…to…

Her last thoughts emptied out and she sank into the warm recesses of slumber.

\--

Wendy awoke late this morning. She felt stiff, groggy, but comfortable in the bed…which was not her dorm!

Alarmed, she stiffened and shot up. Cold air touched her skin and she glanced down to find herself completely naked. She quickly covered her body with the sheets and glanced around. This place was awfully familiar.

“Good morning.”

Irene stepped out of the bathroom, fresh from the shower, with a towel hanging around her neck. “You slept like a log last night. I didn’t even have to sleep on the floor.”

Wendy’s mind exploded. They shared the same bed last night? When she was naked????!!?

“W-w-what happened?” she squeaked.

“Nothing, Wen-Wen.” Irene strode over to the drawer and rummaged for a set of clothes, which she then set down on the foot of the bed. “We slept. That’s all. You were very stressed out.”  
“We slept?” the younger girl echoed.

“Yeah. It was really cuddly.”

WHAT?! Wendy gaped at her. What did they do last night?  
“You kept pushing me last night because it was so cold,” Irene continued nonchalantly. “So I held you in my arms and you didn’t wake up even once.”

“Y-you…we…slept like that?” Wendy questioned in disbelief.

“Yeah. It was warm and comfy.” Irene sat on the bed and handed the clothes to her. “Get washed up and dressed. We have things to do.”

Wendy sifted through the clothing. “Are you sure this is gonna fit?” she pointed out the sports bra.

Irene shrugged. “Just try it.”

She made sure she was thoroughly covered in the blanket and went to Irene’s bathroom. The set up was about the same as the bathroom in her dorm. Just as she was about to close the door, Irene pushed her way in. “Use this.” She pointed out the strawberry scented shampoo and its respective conditioner. Then she pulled out tropical scented body wash. All of them were new.

Wendy wondered why the older girl carried all this extra stuff. Even the toothbrush she borrowed a while ago was still here.

Irene turned on the shower for her, breaking her from her thoughts.

The latter smirked at her before leaving her alone in the bathroom.

She stared at the now closed door but quickly went to lock it just in case Irene decided to invade her privacy.

The blanket was left on the counter and she climbed into the shower.

After feeling so cold, bare, and helpless, this running warmth felt satisfying. Wendy imagined all the tainted feelings draining with the water and away with the soiled soapsuds. She squeezed a blob of the strawberry shampoo into her palm and washed her hair thoroughly. After what happened yesterday, she wanted to be clean.

Wendy wondered why Irene was suddenly being a little more generous than usual. Cuddling? Irene was the one who said they would be sleeping separate if she ever slept over. Why did she let them sleep like that? Or perhaps Irene was lying just to mess with her.

Yeah, Irene was probably trying to make her feel bad for rescuing her again.

But Irene didn’t snap at her when they got back.

Instead she seemed worried and her tone was softer than usual…why?

Why did Irene insist on rescuing her?

Wendy remembered the older girl staring down at her with blue eyes clear as the sky. She remembered the way Irene wrapped her in the blanket and scooped her up in her arms. She remembered the soft sweet scent of vanilla when she buried her face in her shoulder to avoid meeting the gaze of the night.

Since when did Irene have blue eyes?

Well, the sports bra sort of fit. Unfortunately, Irene wouldn’t let Wendy go back to her dorm. Instead, she gave her another t-shirt to wear as underwear under another t-shirt.

“Here.” Irene suddenly shoved a small pill at Wendy.

She instantly backed away. “I thought you didn’t want me to take those.”

“It’s birth control, Wendy,” Irene told her. “It’ll keep you from driving everyone else crazy.”

“What?” But as soon as she opened her mouth, Irene shoved it in and tipped the water bottle to he lips so that she was forced to swallow it and the pill.

The water spilled from the corner of her mouth and down her neck.

“It’ll keep you from having your period, just like the other medicine,” Irene explained. “Or at least it’ll keep the bleeding light. Your scent is what’s allowing Taeyeon and Tiffany to find you.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It doesn’t,” Irene confirmed. “But that’s the way it is here. Come on,” she said before Wendy could say anything else. “There’s not much time.”

She grabbed her hand but Wendy held back with wariness. “Why do you keep on helping me?” she said quietly.

Irene turned to her. “You were lucky.”

Wendy gave her an uncertain look. “But every time I do get in trouble, you always happen to be around. You don’t have to help me.”

The latter gazed at her with an expression she couldn’t read, but then stared down at her feet. “Wendy, you shouldn’t ask these questions. Or else I won’t help you next time.” Her tone wasn’t reprimanding though. “Now come on.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Wendy argued. “How can I trust you? Are you trying to make me pay back for—“

Irene’s eyes filled with iciest fire. “Don’t ever test me!” she spat, much to Wendy’s alarm. “Fine, you want to know why I’m doing this for you?” she demanded. “Well, it’s because you remind me of myself when I first stepped foot on campus. They tricked me into thinking that I would be trained with the best classical training. They tricked me into taking those dumb pills! They tricked me into letting them evaluate me!” She was seething now, and she cornered Wendy against the wall. “I was naïve and stupid! I lost my friends because of that! I lost myself because of that! You don’t want to know what it feels like to lose control of who you once were. You don’t want to know what it feels like to lose your virginity to a bastard who is only interested in turning you into another pawn! And a pawn for reproduction! ”

Irene’s canines lengthened into fangs, and her nails dug painfully into Wendy’s shoulder as she pinned her to the wall. “This is no lie, Wendy Son. Once you come here, you can never return.”

“Y-you’re hurting me…” Wendy winced.

Irene’s features returned to normal, but she was still fuming. She shoved Wendy on the bed. “You ungrateful human.”  
Wendy curled into herself and shut her eyes tightly. This wasn’t true. Irene was lying. She was a liar. Taeyeon said so herself.

But even Taeyeon didn’t seem so trustworthy…especially after what happened yesterday.

Who could she believe?

Wendy wanted to go home. So what if this was a top music school? So what if she would have to wait to go to another conservatory? She wasn’t happy, and everyone and everything about this school was really creepy.

Her shoulders stung from where Irene’s nails had pierced through the shirts and her skin. She was afraid to open her eyes because she wasn’t sure she could keep her dignity against that cold fiery glare.

“W-Wendy…I’m sorry,” she barely heard Irene.

“I…I didn’t mean to…hurt you…”

She felt a hand on her cheek, but she lashed out violently, striking Irene in the gut with her foot.

Wendy heard Irene take in a sharp gasp of air, and she fell to the ground with a loud thud. She was upset, mad, and sad, and really confused. “That doesn’t give you an excuse to boss me around!” Wendy snapped at her.

Irene was suddenly on top of her on the bed and pinning her down again. Her eyebrows were knit with frustration. “I’m not bossing you around! I’m making sure you’re safe!” she hissed.

The younger girl tried to knee her, but her legs were too short so she bit Irene’s wrist.

Irene grit her teeth. “Don’t start a fight with me!” she grimaced. “I’d beat you easily. Hell, I could kill you!” She braced her free hand against Wendy’s throat causing the younger to release her bite. Irene inspected her wound, which was bleeding a little. Then she leaned in close menacingly. “Killing you would be like breaking a toothpick.”

Wendy was too upset to be afraid and she shoved Irene off of by kneeing her as hard she could. This time it was successful.

Irene flopped on her side, again wheezing for air. She had one hand over her middle while trying to support herself with the other.

Without thinking, Wendy tackled her and they tumbled to the floor with Irene on the bottom. Both of them were disheveled and gasping from their tussle.

And Wendy punched Irene clean into her cheek that it left a mark and some blood.

Irene’s eyes visibly watered, and Wendy too felt her tears escaping.

“What’s the matter?” Irene taunted. “Go on and hit me again.”  
Wendy gaped at her in shock and she hesitated.

“Come on. Go ahead. It’s been a while since someone’s beat me up,” Irene continued.

She shook her head and started backing off. Her hand really hurt. And it felt numb and kind of like there was a warm layer setting over it.

Her heart nearly stopped when she saw that the punch she landed on Irene had broken her knuckles open.

Frustrated and traumatized with all the confusion and this wound, her tears began to fall against her will.

“Wendy…”

“Just leave me alone!” she choked out and struggled to get up.

But Irene tripped her and pulled her close. “Don’t go anywhere,” she said firmly. “You’re hurt.”

The senior took Wendy’s wounded hand and gently brushed the openings with her fingers before covering it entirely with her hand. There was soft warmth for a few seconds before Irene released her hand.

And it was completely healed over like nothing had ever happened.

Irene sighed and leaned against the side of the bed, still holding Wendy in her arms. “This is exactly how I held you last night.” She wiped Wendy’s tears and tipped her chin upwards with one finger. “You’re cute when you’re asleep. What do you dream of?” her voice became soft and playful.

Still holding onto her pride, Wendy looked away and pushed her hand off. “Stop playing around with me,” she grumbled. “I’m tired of you.”

Wendy scrambled out of Irene’s arms and started to leave.

But she suddenly found herself winded on the floor and staring up at Irene.

“Wen-Wen, where are you going?”

“Don’t call me that!” Wendy gasped.

“Wae? I like it.”

Ugh…why was Irene suddenly so weird and chipper?

“Well I don’t.” Wendy attempted to get up, but Irene easily pushed her back down with one hand on her chest.

Three light raps on the door interrupted them.

Irene looked towards the door and her expression immediately became neutral again. “Get up, Wendy,” she growled.

She obeyed and watched Irene step to the door carefully.

Her hand closed over the knob and she opened the door to reveal an unhappy Taeyeon.

“Irene.”

“Taeyeon.”


	8. Second Thoughts

“Wendy’s here,” Taeyeon said. “What a surprise.”

Irene did not answer her. When Taeyeon tried to take one step forward, she quickly barred the way. “What do you want?” she demanded.

“Irene, chill out. No one can breathe here,” Taeyeon chided her. “I just want to talk.”

“Then talk.”

Taeyeon glanced at her. “No need to be snappy. I just want to talk with you, and then talk with Wendy…privately.”

“I’m afraid I can’t allow your second request.”

“That wasn’t a request. It was an order, Irene Bae Joohyun.”

“Yeah, well, I do as I please. Wendy and I have arrangements.”

Taeyeon huffed and pushed Irene aside. “Stop bossing her around. You’re just making life miserable for her and everyone else.” She approached Wendy with concern written all over her face. “Oh, Wendy. I’m so glad you’re alright. I heard about what happened last night.”

“I-it’s fine…” Wendy replied nervously.

“No, it’s not. Irene could have hurt you.”

“B-but…she saved me!”

Taeyeon gave her a sympathetic look. “Irene is tricking you, Wendy. She didn’t save you. She was interrupting an important ritual.” Her eyes were slowly becoming crimson red again. “Wendy, believe me.”

Wendy was experiencing the fogginess again, but it quickly died when Irene tackled Taeyeon to the floor. She quickly sprang away from the tussling mess, watching in horror as their features began to morph with every passing second. Their eyes changed color, and their canines lengthened into sharp fangs. Their nails became sharp claws and the muscle more define in their arms. Growls and snarls erupted in the air as they fought for dominance.

Irene landed a punch in Taeyeno’s eye, while Taeyeon scored sharpened claws clean across Irene’s face in retaliation. The raven-haired girl hissed in pain, drawing away as she was partially blinded from the blow. This gave Taeyeon a chance to knock her aside and pin her down.

“Don’t forget, Irene,” Taeyeon snarled. “I’m the alpha around here.”

Irene blinked blood out of her eyes, but still managed to glare at her—icy blue meeting crimson blood.

Taeyeon released Irene leaving her to recompose herself after the short battle. “Sorry, Wendy. It was self defense.”  
The younger girl wasn’t sure what to do or say. Her eyes kept straying to Irene whose wounds were still running with blood.

“It’s ok, Wendy. We really need to go.” Taeyeon held a hand out.  
Wendy backed away from her…and Irene. What the hell was going on here?  
She couldn’t believe her eyes.

She had witnessed partial wolf transformation first hand…it wasn’t a hallucination.

It was just like that first full moon.

Oh my god.

I’m surrounded by monsters!  
Without one lingering thought Wendy ran away.

Things just got worse though.

She kept running, intent on getting as far away as possible. On the way, she thought she found a road that would lead her back to civilization, but it turned out the entire campus was located on a giant mountain surrounded by giant trees. 

The road ended at a gate that read private property, which appeared to be something like a runway at an airport. There were no planes running. It was barren, nary a sight of anyone working the place.

Wendy dropped to her knees.

Irene was right.

There wasn’t any way back home.

Frustrated, she wailed aloud and beat her fist into the dirt path.

Little did she know that while she was sobbing, shadows were gathering from all sides.

Beautiful…

Delicious…

Sweet…

Delicate…

Since she hadn’t been taking the school pills, and since she just started birth control, her scent was easily detectable attracting all sorts of wolves from the school.

“Hey baby…”

She quickly glanced up to find Tiffany smiling at her…a skyscraper creeper—a skycreeper towering over her. Her breath caught in her throat and she quickly scrambled backwards only to find that a lot of other people were surrounding her.

Were they even her gang, or were they just here on their own…?

“Finally!” Tiffany beamed. “No one else is here to interrupt us.”

Wendy shook her head and clumsily got to her feet to run away.

“Enticing us with your scent and then running away?” Tiffany purred. “What a tease.”

She quickly grabbed Wendy around the waist. “Oh…so tiny…so firm…” she murmured dreamily. “Your body must be tight. Won’t you let me have a taste?”

“The only taste you’re getting is your own blood!”

Wendy was shoved aside, and she heard a loud pop like a rifle.

Irene was back…again.

And Tiffany’s mouth was running with red.

“Ugh, Irene! You insolent bitch!”

“Come near me and I’ll hit you again!” Irene challenged.

Everyone was silent.

“You wanna try?” Tiffany sniggered. “Why don’t you defeat every single one of them?”

Irene snorted. “As if I’m going to dive headfirst in the shallow end of the pool.”

Wendy’s breath caught in her throat when Irene pulled her close. “I’ll just take what I need and be on my way.”  
“Awww, but we were having such fun!” Tiffany pouted. “Irene, why do you have to be such a party pooper?”

“Fuck off.”

Tiffany sneered at them. “Mind your own business, Irene.” Then she smiled sweetly at Wendy. “Next time I’ll show you a good time…without that bitch.”

“You won’t!” Irene barked at her.

The taller girl cackled crazily and motioned for the others to disperse. “I’ll find a way. Don’t worry, Wendy.”

The freshman pressed against Irene’s side instinctively as Tiffany gave her a last creepy smile before leaving.

“Are you alright?” Irene asked.

She nodded, but her eyes were still wide with fear and her heart racing as if there were no tomorrow. Everything was adding up to her confusion—things she saw and experience still made no sense. The other students acted so strangely, especially Tiffany, Taeyeon, and Irene. How could their eyes change color? How staring into Taeyeon and Irene’s eyes make her suddenly lose control temporarily?

Why did they speak of scents like…like animals?

“I told you not to leave my side,” Irene suddenly scolded her again. “If you hadn’t run off, this wouldn’t have happened. Now the whole school will-“

“Enough, Irene,” Taeyeon interrupted. “It’s perfectly ok for her to be afraid. It’s only natural when you’re being forced to stay with someone you hardly know.”

Wendy stared at her unsure of what to think of say, or if she should even respond. She looked up at Irene, who was giving Taeyeon a most murderous glare. Pressure increased pulling her towards Irene, and she realized that the latter’s arms were fully clasped around her.

“Irene, you’re not the type to develop attachments,” Taeyeon continued. “So why are you trying to steal Wendy for yourself?”

There was an audible growl rumbling in Irene’s throat. Suddenly, she shoved Wendy towards Taeyeon. “Fine. Take her.”

With that, she turned on her heel leaving Wendy alone with Taeyeon.

For some odd reason, she felt empty and scared—kind of like when she first went to preschool and realized her parents had left her with a bunch of strangers.

The only difference was that Wendy really was afraid to be alone with Taeyeon, especially after the night of that ‘evaluation’. Honestly, she trusted Irene more than Taeyeon. Though she could be moody and mean, she always was coming to Wendy’s rescue.

“Don’t worry about her,” Taeyeon broke into her thoughts. “She was always a bit of a snob.” Her hand closed around Wendy’s. The sudden contact caused her to flinch.

“It’s going to be ok. You must be hungry.” Taeyeon began to lead her back to campus. “Why don’t we get lunch?”

“I’m ok,” Wendy tried to decline. Why did she feel nervous with the notion that Irene wasn’t around? She should feel relieved that the crazy senior wasn’t breathing down her neck now. “I…I have class in the afternoon.”

“Nonsense. One cannot function on an empty stomach,” Taeyeon insisted.

\--

Another week passed without Irene, but Taeyeon was hanging around more frequently than before. It was not as excessive as Irene, but Taeyeon would eat lunch and dinner with her, and walk her back to the dorm. Tiffany hadn’t approached them, but one time Wendy accidentally caught her eye and the taller girl winked at her with a smirk.

Taeyeon and the teachers asked her if she was taking the pills regularly, and she always said yes. Could they tell she wasn’t taking them? Oh and speaking of that, she hadn’t taken the birth control pills since Irene wasn’t spending time with her.

Wendy kind of missed knowing Irene was waiting for her after class, and she kind of missed seeing that neutral expression of disapproval every time they met up…although the last time they were together, Irene didn’t display her signature aura.

Wendy also noticed other older boy and girl students watching her, some following her, some coincidentally appearing wherever she was going, and someone even left her a note on her desk.

She tossed it, not wanting to read what was inside.

Once she was out of the building a group surrounded her. “Hey, you didn’t read my note!” the boy said.

Wendy ignored him and tried to push past.

“Don’t you want some fun? I bet you let Irene get into your pants all the time!” he said cockily. “No one associates with Irene as a regular ‘pal’.” His friends grabbed Wendy on either side at a swift flick of his wrist.

“Let go!” Wendy cried and struggled as she was lifted off the ground.

“Tiffany always gets the girls first, but I’ll show her. You’re going to be my first victory.” He licked his lips and they carried her away from everyone and into a shadowed area that led to a dark basement.

Wendy still struggled and managed to land a hit, but the boy merely grunted. She continued to flail around causing difficulty for the travel. Finally, after jabbing one boy in the chest she was dropped to the floor. She quickly scrambled to her feet and ran away.

“Get her!” the boy howled.

The air was filled with pounding feet and Wendy’s pounding heart rate as she ran as fast as she could from the boys. Luckily, she had the advantage of a head start but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could run. Surely they would catch up to her.

One backward glance made her regret the action. They were definitely gaining on her. Wendy took a sharp right around another building and scrabbled over a small brick wall dividing the walkway from the grass area.

As soon as her feet hit the pavement, she felt the exhaustion settling into her muscles. When was the last time she had decent cardio?

The boys were gaining on her quickly.

With one last effort, she turned a corner and crashed into someone. Wendy quickly backed off to find Irene standing before her. “U-unnie!”

“Shit! It’s her!”

“So,” Irene said. “Practicing your hunting technique, boys?”

“Fuck off! We just want the girl!”

Irene’s grip instantly tightened around Wendy. “It’s too early to hunt. The full moon isn’t until next week.”

“Shut up! You’re just an outcast. You’re not even an alpha, and even if you were, Taeyeon still tops you!”

Irene shoved Wendy behind her and stomped towards the three boys.

“You’ve got a lot of guts to say that to my face!” she snarled.

“Yeah! Yeah I do! Want some of me?” the lead boy, who was taller than Irene, challenged her and got into a fighting stance.

But before anything could happen, Irene threw a powerful punch in the gut that knocked him aside. The backup boys retaliated but weren’t skilled enough to match Irene’s speed and strength. She whacked one aside with a powerful foot jab to the gut, and then landed an uppercut punch under the chin to the other sending him flying.

“Stay away from her!” Irene spat. “If I find any of you even taking one look at her again, you’re dead!”

Without a word, Irene scooped her up in her arms (bridal style) and carried her back to the main campus.

“T-thanks…for saving me again…” Wendy felt nervous after not seeing her for so long. Secretly, she was glad to have accidentally run into her…if this wasn’t a coincidence that Irene saved her once more.

The older girl cursed under her breath. “You should have come to me for the birth control.”

“But you pushed me away.”

Irene paused, only her agitated steps filling the silence between them. “You stink.”

“What?” Her cheeks flushed red.

“You reek of Taeyeon.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“She’s trying to mark you.”  
“Mark me?” Wendy echoed in confusion. “What are you saying?”  
“She’s trying to claim you as her mate.”  
“Can you just use regular language please?”  
Irene sighed heavily. “Nevermind. You’ll understand in time…when you see it with your own eyes.” Her tone completely changed to that of concern. “Are you hurt? They didn’t touch you, right?”

“Well…they grabbed me, but that’s about it.”  
“How dare they,” she growled.

Irene took her back to her dorm room again and set her down on the bed carefully. She grabbed a new set of clothes for Wendy. “Go clean up. I don’t want to smell Taeyeon or anyone else on you.”

Wendy gave her a weird look but was ultimately (and literally) thrown into Irene’s bathroom.

“Wash thoroughly!” Irene commanded and shut the door loudly.

They were back to the old routine—Irene barking Wendy up a tree, and Wendy having to raise the white flag.

The only thing was Wendy didn’t feel bothered by it at all.

And she wasn’t sure why.

When she was done with her shower, Irene checked her over—just like a dog or a cat would scent their owner upon return. She circled her a few times and then leaned in close until her nose barely brushed against Wendy’s neck. “Very good. You smell nice now.”

Wendy blushed a light pink and backed away from Irene. “T-thanks…?”

Irene smirked. “Don’t go anywhere. I’m going to shower too.”

“I won’t.”  
The latter gazed at her thoughtfully and then went to her drawer, pulling out a scarf. “Just to be sure.”  
“N-no! You’re not tying me up!” Wendy quickly ran to the other side of the room.

“We’re not completely on a level of trust yet, Wendy.” Irene was so fast she was already in front of Wendy before she even batted an eyelid. “Sorry.” And she whipped Wendy off her feet and set her on the bed before bounding her wrists above her head. Then she lay a blanket over Wendy and pat her head. “I’ll be back soon, Wen-Wen,” she said cheerily and bounded into the bathroom like a happy pup.

Dammit…

This felt like a really rated-x part of a movie. She was now vulnerable to Irene. That is, until she was untied. Wendy tugged and squirmed about, but she was inevitably unable to release her hands from whatever impossible knots Irene tied.

WHHHHYYYY????!!!!

Why did I think Irene was ok? Now I’m stuck in bed! And tied up like a prisoner!

After eternity, Irene finally came out looking all fresh and relaxed. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said as she dropped her dirted clothes in the hamper and put things away.

The older girl sat at the foot of the bed and gazed at her.

Wendy gulped, hoping nothing inappropriate was going to happen. Irene could easily—really easily dominate her in this helpless state.

She flinched when Irene placed a warm hand on the top of her foot. Slowly, her hand moved upwards pushing up the pants leg of the sweatpants just up past her ankle.

“Poor Wendy,” Irene murmured softly. “You must be tired after running from those awful wolves.”

Wolves? “Excuse me?”

Irene took her foot in her hands and gently began to massage her toes, sole, and heel. She did the same thing to the other foot. Her fingers were soft but firm, every touch releasing tension and stress that Wendy had every since she stepped foot on campus.

Wendy was so nervous and a bit freaked out, but the massage was nice. She even forgot about being tied up.

The massage was putting her to sleep, but she awoke when Irene was untying her wrists. Just like her feet, Irene began to massage her hand and all the way up her arm too. She chanced a glance at the latter, and she got a slight one-sided smile from her.

It was still early yet, but the refreshing shower, the warmth she was wrapped in, and the nice warm massage from Irene was making her really drowsy.

“It’s ok to sleep,” Irene told her. “I’ll be here.”

Wendy tried not to, but she eventually gave in to her exhaustion. The last thing she remembered was Irene’s fingers massaging the tension from her fingers, every touch bringing her deep into the recesses of rest and comfort.

\--

Taeyeon searched for Wendy. Her scent was all over campus and it was confusing her especially since it was mixed with the scents of those dumb boy omegas. They weren’t as fresh either and with the wind blowing pollen everywhere it was making things difficult for her.

But she did find the boys whose scents were mixed with Wendy’s. “Hey!” she called out at them sharply.

All of them stood up to attention as soon as she neared them.

Good. At least they knew that she was the alpha around here.

“What did you do with Wendy?” she demanded.

“Nothing! Irene took her away!”

“Irene, huh?” Taeyeon smirked.

How could she not guess?

That stupid mutt had her eyes on Wendy ever since she got here. No way she could believe that she could have Wendy so easily.

Taeyeon spotted her first and therefore Wendy was rightfully hers. Besides, Irene was a bit of a jerk and had a real bad attitude in her opinion so Wendy probably was sick of her by now. That’s why Taeyeon made sure to be nice, especially since Wendy was a freshman. She needed to establish trust early and then make her move.

“Well, you boys stay away from Wendy because she’s already taken.”

“Y-yes, Taeyeon-ssi.”

“Good.”

And with that she stomped to the dorm for graduate students. As for you, Irene…I will have to discipline you again.

\--

Wendy awoke in the middle of the night. It was all dark and the room was not quite familiar until she realized that she was back in Irene’s dorm again. This time she wasn’t crammed between the wall and Irene.

It was really warm though.

Irene was sleeping beside her, and Wendy noticed under the light of the moon how beautiful she was. This was the prime example of a goddess.

Wendy sighed and shut her eyes again. For once, she felt rested. Maybe Irene’s massage helped with that too.

Just as she was falling asleep again, she felt arms slowly wrapping around her and pulling her into solid warmth. She barely acknowledged the fact that it was Irene cuddling her, and she returned to sleep instantly without a second thought.

\--To be continued...


	9. Irene's Demise

Wendy awoke nestled in Irene’s shoulder. It was warm and the sent of sweet vanilla filled her nostrils. Sighing softly she snuggled closer and was about to fall asleep again until she felt Irene slowly move away from her. The older girl pulled the sheets over her shoulder and then got off the bed.

She heard Irene go into the bathroom probably to get ready for something.

But when she glanced at the clock it was 5:45AM. What was Irene planning this morning?

Irene came out fully dressed running a comb through her hair. She pulled open a drawer and a red composition book, which she sifted through until she seemingly found the page she wanted.

Wendy slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“Irene?”

“It’s alright. Go to sleep.” She turned a page and leaned on the desk.

The younger girl slipped out of bed and tried to see what Irene was looking at, but she was knocked backwards onto her backside.

Irene shut the composition book. “Do not touch anything on this desk,” she growled.

Wendy gaped at her but nodded vigorously. It wasn’t even sunrise and she was already getting beat up. Irene picked her up and set her back on the bed. “I have somewhere to be.”

Her eyes glowed the most pure sky blue and she stared deeply into Wendy’s eyes. “I want you to sleep,” she murmured.

The smaller girl felt her mind clearing up in less than a second. No matter how hard she tried to fight the gentle numbness taking over her body, she could not resist.

Irene gently stroked her cheek. “Rest, Wen-Wen. You’re still tired from yesterday.”

Wendy’s eyelids fluttered as she battled the overwhelming darkness. She tried to protest and ask where Irene was going.

In the end, she gave in and all she remembered was Irene’s hand softly cupping her cheek when she let go.

\--

Irene heaved a sigh of relief. This hypnosis thing really wasn’t her style, but she couldn’t yet trust Wendy to be left alone. What if she ran off and got herself into a situation with Tiffany, or the boys, or anyone else for that matter? Also, she couldn’t let Taeyeon get anymore closer to the girl.

At least Wendy was easy to manipulate. She would quickly fall into Irene’s grasp whenever she needed to hypnotize her.

Irene grabbed her bag and walked to the gym, which opened quite early. She always made sure to get there at around 6 because no one else was there until 8.

She liked her privacy, especially during workout, which she had began to take more seriously ever since Taeyeon was starting to get on her case again. It was necessary to be ready for a fight just in case anything happened.

Perfect. No one was here, just as always. Irene tore off her sweatshirt revealing her compression t-shirt she always wore for workouts. It stuck comfortably tight to her skin, revealing her lean body and muscle definition.

No one ever suspected pretty girl Irene was such an avid athlete in the gym. She chuckled to herself as she stretched before taking a jog on the treadmill. After thirty minutes, she did some weight lifting (not the big one body builder one), and then some abdominal workouts.

It felt good to work up a sweat…especially while thinking about how to defeat Taeyeon once and for all—her ultimate goal ever since their battle all those years ago.

“Baby, you don’t know what you’re getting into.”

Taeyeon held her hand out. “Come. Let us return before the storm hits.”

Irene furiously slapped her hand away .“You’re disgusting. Drugging me continuously so that I would forget who I am, letting a fucking nurse shove her fingers inside me, and…and feeding me with lies!” Irene spat. “I’m done with all this sick shit, Taeyeon! Because of you, I’ve lost my friends…I’ve lost my family!”

Taeyeon cackled. “Irene…Irene. It was your own fault, darling.” She sneered. “You chose to break my rules.”

“Fuck you!”

“Oh, baby. Oh sweetheart. What have you become?” Taeyeon murmured and gently tucked Irene’s hair back. “You used to be so sweet and innocent. I loved you.”

With one fast move, Taeyeon had her pinned against the wall, her lips brushing Irene’s cheek. “Come on, babe. It’s not too late to beg forgiveness from the Arcane Alpha.” She gave one long lick against her cheek. “Let me make you mine. I’ll pleasure you until you’ll be in a state of euphoric insanity. Don’t make life harder for yourself.” She leaned back, her eyes glowing blood red boring into Irene who was glaring at her with utmost hatred. “Bear my child.”

Taeyeon choked when Irene jabbed her in the crotch with her knee and punched her in the stomach. The punch didn’t hurt. It was the jab in the crotch.

“Fuck!” she hissed.

Irene backed off. “Stay away from me!”

Taeyeon was mad. Her desired mate was fighting her. “Idiot! You need me to survive! You have nobody!” She leapt at Irene knocking her to the ground. She straddled her and punched her across the face twice. “Beg me to stop!” she snarled.

But Irene did not. She endured the pain.

Taeyeon got off her and lifted her high up in the air by the neck causing Irene to gag. “You made a big mistake to defy me, human.”

Irene kicked and flailed to escape. She was slowly suffocating and the grip around her throat really hurt. Taeyeon was too strong, but she wasn’t ready to give up.

The Arcane Alpha tossed her aside and she landed unceremoniously on the ground. Irene tasted blood in her mouth, she could feel blood on her face, blood dripping down her neck, and her whole body hurt.

Her heart was racing like crazy.

Taeyeon knelt down beside her and roughly shoved her flat on the ground. “Once you come to this place, you can never leave. You have no family to return to. Nobody will know you. Instead, they will all see you as a monster because I will hunt you down and do whatever it takes to bring you back.”

Irene managed to muster all her strength in one punch to Taeyeon’s jaw.

But the older girl only smirked. “Though…if you want, I can relieve you of your misery.” She leaned in close her fangs glinting in the moonlight. “I could strip your life from you. Easy as pie.”

Taeyeon leaned close to her neck, the bare tips of her teeth tickling her flesh. “Farewell, my puppet. It was too bad we couldn’t have anything more.”

And she sank her teeth into Irene’s neck.

She screamed and flailed about for anything that could be of use to retaliate. Her hand landed on a heavy jagged rock, which she just barely managed to lift.

The bite was so bad, she could feel her whole body burning, her insides were twisting and wrenching, and her heart was pounding at irregular intervals.

With all the strength she had left, she rammed the rock into Taeyeon’s head, which thankfully released her from the bite.

The alpha howled in pain. “My eye!” she screamed. “My eye!”

Thunder crashed overhead, lightning lighting up the area like a horror film. Taeyeon’s face was streaming with blood down from her eye. She raised a clawed hand and scored it down Irene’s face, missing her neck and then tearing down her chest. “DIE!” She began to morph into a wolf.

Somehow, Irene did not faint.

She did not die.

By now she must have lost a lot of blood.

Instead, the fight was still inside her and as the next lightning lit the skies, she felt her whole body shifting and crunching as she too became a wolf—a black wolf with the icies blue eyes.

Taeyeon was larger, another black wolf but with red eyes. She snarled and leapt at Irene.

The storm was falling upon them as they wrestled, bit, and scratched each other. Other wolves attracted by the sounds watched from the sidelines howling as blood was shed.

Finally…upon sunrise, Taeyeon pinned Irene down. “You’re lucky I’m not killing you today,” Taeyeon snarled. “And you’re lucky your body adapted to the Arcane pathogens. But know this…you can never defeat me.”

The crowd broke up as Taeyeon stalked away leaving Irene still torn and bleeding under the sun. She stared at the sky, wondering why the neck bite didn’t kill her, and how the fuck she ended up turning into an animal.

Irene was tired.

She had no strength to get up.

So she closed her eyes and rested under the sun.

But she was no longer the helpless human girl she once was. Now, thanks partially to Taeyeon, she had gained new strength to oppose her.

-

Wendy was busy scribbling down math operations and punching numbers into a calculator, and creating a lot of eraser dust.

She wondered if Irene was ever going to scold her for all the chaos on the table, but the older girl continued reading her own thing.

Midterms were next week but so was Thanksgiving. The both of them had a lot of practicing and studying to work on. Luckily, the other students were in the same dilemma so there hadn’t been much trouble during the earlier part of the week. Wendy was quite looking forward to the upcoming four day weekend. Since she had been so busy with school, she could finally take the moment to call her parents once exams were over.

“Need help?” Irene finally spoke up.

“Um…”

“What’s this? Calculus?” she turned over Wendy’s book. “Hm…the highest I went was precalc.” She leaned closer inspecting her work. “Why are you adding when you’re multiplying?”

She glanced over her work and indeed found the error Irene pointed out.

“T-thanks…”

Irene ruffled her hair into a mess and smirked while Wendy tried to fix it.

They studied for a few hours more and then went to get dinner.

On the way there, they bumped into Tiffany, who was intent on taunting Irene. “Still haven’t learned have you?” she sneered as they approached the café.

Irene ignored her and tugged on Wendy’s hand. “There are spiders in the salad at that restaurant.”

“Hey! Don’t ignore me! If Taeyeon sees this, you know what’ll happen. Remember last time?”

Wendy could hear the growl rumbling low in Irene’s throat. She glanced at the older girl who was visibly grinding her teeth.

“Irene, stop this crazy façade! Dragging and bossing Wendy around like you’re a slave driver!” Tiffany crowed. “It’s just armor to cover up the pitiful girl you once were!”

Irene stopped suddenly and sighed deeply. She turned to Tiffany and they were slowly becoming surrounded.

“Say that again,” Irene growled.

“You’re just a coward.” Tiffany guffawed. “Downplaying my dearest Wendy is not making you any stronger!”

Wendy flinched when Irene threw down her things and stomped right up to Tiffany. “I’ve beaten you up more than once, Fany. Don’t make me do it again.”

Tiffany sneered at her. “Fine. Show Wendy how brutal you can be.”

Irene hesitated, and in that moment, Tiffany stole it.

The taller grew punched Irene’s jaw so hard it sent her flying down at Wendy’s feet.

“I-Irene-unnie!” Wendy cried out in shock and dropped to her side. “Oh my god…why did you do that?” she demanded to Tiffany.

“Wendy, don’t let her boss you around,” the other girl said. “Taeyeon is much more suited for you than that mutt.”

The freshman stared at Irene who was recovering from the powerful impact.

“As I said. Mixed bloods don’t match the strength of pure Arcanes,” Tiffany jeered and then stalked away, bringing the rest of the crowd with her.

“Unnie, does it hurt badly?” Wendy asked while Irene sat up.

The older girl chuckled much to her surprise. “Since when did you start calling me unnie?”

What?”

“Are you really worried about me?” Irene continued.

“W-we-well…she hit you pretty bad…” she blushed and looked away.

“So you are…and here I am treating you like crap.”

“Yeah…y-you do treat me like crap,” Wendy affirmed. “Like leaving me hanging for one week.” It just slipped out of her mouth. It wasn't like she cared anyway...right? Wendy was just trying to point out the fact that Irene really didn't treat her nicely. Irene was always stalking her and demanding to know her every move. If it was okay for Irene to do that, shouldn't she have that same right?

“Eh?”

“Where did you go?”

“Aish...you sound like a clingy wife.”

“You’re the one holding me on a leash,” Wendy retorted.

“Fine. Fine. You win. I was kidding anyway.”

“You have lame jokes. Don’t even tell jokes to me.”

Irene smirked. “Why do you let me boss you around?”

“Answer my question first!” Wendy snapped.

The older girl sniffed. “I was busy. I don’t have all the time in the world to pay attention to you.”

Ugh…not again. They were back to Irene’s usual jerk self.

“You’re really mean.” Wendy gathered her things and began to walk away sullenly. I can’t believe I missed you…

“You…you missed me?” Irene echoed.

\---To be continued...


	10. The Wolf Inside

"I can't believe I missed you."

Wendy didn’t know she said her mind aloud. Nevertheless, she felt upset that she could never tell what Irene was truly feeling at any moment.

“You always save me,” Wendy said, but with an accusing tone, which rose higher as her frustration vented out. “But then you go on and blame me as if I were forcing you to help me. I never asked! You could have just left me alone!”

“Wendy, I—“

“Leave me alone,” Wendy snapped. She stormed down the walk. “If you’re that sick of me then stop following me!”

Irene jogged after her and grabbed her arm. “Wendy-ah, I didn’t know you missed me.”

“Yeah, well now I don’t!” Wendy shook her off and picked up the pace.

Irene still chased after her, also leaving her dropped items behind. “Wen-Wen, come on! Please wait!”

"Wendy ignored the older girl, moving away from her every time they made some sort of contact. Unfortunately, Irene continued following her and finally blocked the way. The younger girl made to step around her, but Irene held her around the waist. “Why are you running away?”

“Just go away,” she grumbled and pushed past her again.

“Hey!” Irene grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Why didn’t you look for me if you missed me?”

“What difference does it make now? You don’t even like me.”

The corner of Irene’s mouth twitched as she stared down at the smaller girl. “How do you know that?”

Wendy curled her upper lip with disdain and tried to shove her off, though she did not succeed in doing so. “Are you serious?” she demanded impatiently. “Everything you do spells out how much you think I’m a nuisance to you.”

For some strange reason, Irene began to laugh hysterically. She held one arm over stomach as she continued laughing while Wendy watched on not amused and really confused. What did Irene find so funny about this whole set up? Was this supposed to be a joke for her to enjoy all this time?

She felt ridiculed.

She felt stupid…for letting Irene shove her around, and for thinking that Irene was better than Taeyeon.

I’m an idiot.

Wendy felt tears lingering at the corners of her eyes. She threw her books at Irene and ran away just as she broke down.

The innocent young freshman did not detect the resentment in Irene’s sudden outburst of laughter.

Unknown to her, red eyes were watching from the shadows following her every move before locking onto Irene, who was no longer laughing.

“H-hey!” Irene ran after her. “Wendy, you don’t understand!”

“Go away!” Wendy sobbed, but tripped on a crack in the ground. She fell flat on the ground, still sobbing because she was already feeling stupider and now feeling stupider than ever due to her fall.

Irene quickly rushed to her side. “Wen-Wen, be careful!”

Yeah.

After having a nice laugh, she was now acting as if she were worried.

Wendy curled away from her, covering her face with her hands because she was ashamed to be caught crying.

“Stay away from her,” someone else growled.

Irene froze for a moment, but proceeded to touch Wendy’s back. “W-Wen-Wendy? I didn’t mean it the way you thought…”

“I said get away!” Taeyeon stepped out of the shadows. “You mongrel!”

Irene growled, hovering over Wendy’s body protectively. Wendy wiped her tears, sniffling as she peeked up to find red eyes glaring down at the both of them. She then glanced at Irene whose eyes were now fiery icy blue.

“Wendy, leave,” Taeyeon commanded. “Irene and I…need to have a little bit of a…serious talk.”

“Don’t leave, Wendy.” Irene turned to the alpha. “You know what happens when she’s left alone. They whole school will come chasing after her.”

“I don’t want her to see you turn into a brutal monster.”

“The only brutal monster here is you!” Irene barked back at her. “You may act like an angel, but your intentions are solely selfish!”

“The selfish one is you, my dear. You chose this route instead of doing the right thing.” Taeyeon leaned down and cupped Irene’s cheek. “We could have been beautiful, darling.”

Wendy’s eyes widened as blood splashed onto her cheek when Irene struck Taeyeon across the face with sharpened claws.

“Don’t touch me!” Irene spat.

Taeyeon smirked before suddenly leaping into Irene, throwing her backwards and pinning her down away from Wendy. “Did you forget? Starting a fight with me would be a terrible mistake. Leave Wendy to me.”

Irene jerked under her in an attempt to escape. “No!” she snarled. “Keep your dirty hands away from her!”

Taeyeon chuckled ominously slowly growing into cackles that sent shivers down Wendy’s spine. No one moved. Wendy could have made a run for it, but she only stared in horror as Taeyeon’s features morphed into a wolf’s and her body was beginning to change. Irene took the moment to kick the latter off of her, allowing her time to leap away and also turn into a giant black wolf with icy blue eyes. Taeyeon howled loudly and became a larger black wolf with red eyes.

Both of them growled and circled each other, sizing up one another before the Taeyeon leapt at Irene.

The poor freshman gaped at the battling wolves. She slowly pushed herself backwards on the floor, afraid that any sudden movement would alert both wolves…and they might possibly attack her—though that seemed highly unlikely.

The two beasts were locked in their battle, too busy trying to defeat the other to notice her.

Ripping sounds, gnashing teeth, growls and yelps filled the night sky, and Wendy’s ears. It was brutal.

And it was really bloody. Red fluid flew and spattered on the cold ground under the moon’s faint light. Their teeth glinted in the light as they snapped and tore into each other.

Finally, Irene barreled into Taeyeon’s side. They rolled over each other and Irene battled to be on top, but Taeyeon’s larger size easily overcame her maneuver. She pinned Irene down on the ground and leaned down to bite her throat.

Wendy gazed on, horrified as Irene howled and scrabbled at Taeyeon, tearing tufts of her chest fur and her flesh though it seemed not to effect the larger wolf.

“S-stop!” Wendy wailed.

The wolves both stopped momentarily, allowing Irene to thrust Taeyeon off. The blue-eyed wolf staggered to her feet, still growling and wanting to fight Taeyeon.

Wendy gulped nervously, noticing how Irene’s tail lashed angrily.

“I-Irene unnie…” she stammered. “D-don’t fight…”

Irene turned to her, claws clicking on the ground as she stepped towards her. Taeyeon growled warningly also following in behind.

The younger girl shivered, unsure of what was going to happen. Maybe she shouldn’t have interrupted their fight…what if they decided to tear her apart? Were they still in their right minds?

Irene stopped above her leaning down slowly until her big muzzle touched her arm.

These wolves were huge…bigger than horses, bigger than bears…

Irene turned back into a human and collapsed on her knees in front of Wendy.

“Good riddance…” Taeyeon muttered and dusted herself off as if nothing happened.

But the younger girl was too preoccupied to listen. She was still trying to process the fact that both Taeyeon and Irene turned into wolves trying to tear each other’s throats out—make that giant wolves trying to kill the other. This had to be a hallucination…or a really bad dream. Yes, that was it. Soon, she would wake up from this terrible alternate world.

But it would have been too good to be true.

Irene fell on top of Wendy, and in instinct she tried to break the fall only to be knocked down underneath the older girl.

“You see, Irene?” Taeyeon sneered. “You can’t defeat me. Come on, Wendy.” She flipped Irene off her and lifted Wendy onto her feet. “The mutt won’t be bothering you anymore.”

Taeyeon picked up Wendy’s things, while the younger girl stared at Irene’s limp form. Was she dead?

“Don’t worry about her. She’ll be ok by tomorrow.”

Taeyeon wrapped an arm around her shoulder and began to pull her away from the scene. “Let’s get you back in your dorm.”

Wendy tried to pull away from her, but Taeyeon had a strong grip. The older girl tugged on her every time she lagged to cast a few backward glances. Irene sometimes did that to her when she wasn’t fast enough, she automatically recalled. Yet, this wasn’t the same…this didn’t feel right. The last time she was alone with Taeyeon, she ended up passing out and finding herself restrained and naked in a sketchy lab room. Did Taeyeon know about that? Was it on purpose?

“Where are we going?”

Taeyeon turned to her with a smile. “I’m taking you back to your dorm.”

They did go back to Wendy’s dorm, which she hadn’t slept in for a few days. Taeyeon seemed to be scoping the room for a few moments before turning to Wendy. “I’m so glad I made it in time.”

“She wasn’t hurting me, honestly,” Wendy protested. “I was kind of mad at her, but nothing was happening.”

Taeyeon gave her a sympathetic look. “As I said, she has bad attitude. It’s ok.” She began to draw closer to Wendy, causing her to back away warily.

Wendy fell down on her bed and Taeyeon hovered on top of her. “W-what are you doing?”

The latter was staring intently at her. “You’re beautiful, Wendy,” Taeyeon breathed. She leaned down closer breathing in deeply. “You smell of Irene.” A low growl rumbled in her throat momentarily but instantly diminished as she stroked Wendy’s head.

Wendy did not like this. Their current position was making her uncomfortable, and she really wanted to Taeyeon to leave her alone. What if the other girl turned into a wolf and attacked? Or worse…what if she ended up in a weird place again?  
Taeyeon brushed her fingertips against Wendy’s cheek. “Your skin is so soft…you must have excellent hygiene.”

“U-um…thanks?”

A cold shiver rippled down her spine and goosebumps rose along her skin when Taeyeon tipped her chin upwards with one finger. Wendy gulped nervously, secretly wishing that Irene would come and interrupt whatever was doomed to happen next.

“T-Taeyeon?”

“Shhhh…” Taeyeon pressed a finger over Wendy’s lips. “I would never let you get hurt.” Her tone became soft and husky, her breath tickling Wendy’s cheek.

Wendy tensed up as Taeyeon leaned in and gradually pressed her lips onto hers.

Blood rushed to her head until she could hear her heart pulsating madly in her ears. She flinched in response to the unexpected action, and tried to push Taeyeon off.

But the older girl had her trapped as if knowing she would attempt to protest. Her tongue lapped against Wendy’s lips, trying to enter her mouth.

Finally, Wendy bit Taeyeon’s bottom lip sharply and she tasted blood. The weight finally disappeared from above her and she scrambled into a sitting position. Taeyeon was nursing her bleeding lip with one hand.

“S-s-sorry,” Wendy stammered. “I…I…”

“It’s fine.” Taeyeon gave her a reassuring smile. “I should have waited for you to be ready. I’m sorry, Wendy.” She stepped forward and patted her head, though Wendy flinched away from her touch. “Don’t forget your pills, puppy. Good night.”

Taeyeon closed the door behind her leaving Wendy sitting alone, disheveled and slightly frightened.

\--

Wendy thoroughly washed herself of any traces of today’s events. She brushed her teeth twice, and used mouthwash to make sure her mouth was clean. She couldn’t believe Taeyeon just kissed her…her bloody mouth after that fight with wolf Irene.

After washing her face with a towel, she roughly wiped her sleeve across her mouth.

Why would Taeyeon do such a thing?  
Now freshened up and clean, she flopped down on her bed suddenly feeling exhausted. She curled into a ball hugging her pillow. For once…she was alone. She had her privacy. She had her peace.

As her eyes shut, the battle between wolf-Irene and wolf-Taeyeon replayed vividly. Their growls and snapping teeth were alive in her memory as they were when it happened.

A loud howl filled her ears.

Anguish, pain, anger, frustration, vengeance…

Her eyes snapped open; her heart was beating fast for some reason.

1AM.

Damn…just a bad dream. What a relief.

But the howling suddenly erupted again sending cold tremors down Wendy’s spine.

Tonight was not the full moon, she remembered Irene saying.

Irene.

Was she still out there? Unconscious and hurt?

Wendy tried not to worry. She tried to feed her mind with bad memories of things Irene had done to her, but she couldn’t help but think about the girl being vulnerable to danger. Anyway, Irene had always been there when there was trouble—even if she was bitter about it in the end.

Without thinking, she slipped out of the covers and changed out of her pajamas. She pulled on a black sweatshirt and tied her sneakers on snugly. Then, she quietly shut the door before stepping lightly to the staircase. No one ever used the staircase so it was best to go that route in case she ran into someone else.

Bad choice.

It was too quiet.

Her footsteps—not matter how quietly she moved—made soft echoes in the silence. Sometimes she thought she heard other noises, like creaking door hinges, making her think someone else was here too, but it was only her mind playing games with her.

Finally, she made it to Irene’s floor and she hurried to the shut door.

First, she glanced both ways to be sure no one was around. Then, she cautiously knocked on the door a few times.

No answer.

Perhaps Irene was sleeping.

Wendy knocked again five times. “Irene-unnie?” she chanced to call her name.

But there was still no answer.

She knocked again, and waited. After a few seconds, she pressed her ear against the door to listen for any movement. It was silent as the night.

Where was Irene?  
Wendy took the elevator this time. No one was using it anyway, and she didn’t want to be alone in the staircase.

Once she was outside the door building, she retraced her steps back to where Irene might be. It was oddly quiet and empty tonight. Didn’t most college students stay up past the midnight hour? Uneasiness settled in her stomach at the thought that she might be one of few out roaming in the middle of the night. And of the other few she wasn’t sure who that could be.

Wendy clutched onto herself as the cold night wind pushed against her. The moon was waxing, not quite yet full since next week was the official full moon.

As she neared the area of the fight, she heard snarls and sharp yaps.

Quickly, she ducked behind a nearby trash bin and peeked around the side. A crowd of wolves that were slightly smaller than Irene and Taeyeon were crowding around something or someone. There was the loud familiar howl she heard earlier, and the big black blue-eyed wolf swiped one away, and then another. The other wolves leapt in every time, giving no break for the black wolf to recover.

There was blood everywhere. Blood was dripping down her entire body, blood drenching her muzzle and dripping from her mouth. Her eyes were bright and wild with fight.

But she was tired. Her movements were becoming slower, and the many enemies were wearing her out.

Wendy grabbed a rock and tossed it at one of the enemy wolves. “Stop!” cried out, not quite thinking of the potential consequences. All she could think of was Irene getting hurt terribly.

Luckily, the rock hit a wolf square on the head. The beast growled and turned on Wendy, tail lashing furiously.

“G-get away from her!” Wendy’s voice faltered near the end. She was scared.

Before the wolf could attack, wolf-Irene leapt onto its back and sank her teeth into the back of its neck. The wolf howled and wailed until Irene finally released it. The enemy beast whined and ran away with its tail between its legs. The other wolves followed in behind, seeming to sense Irene would be ready to attack them too.

The night became quiet as the two were left alone: one human and one wolf.

Irene slowly padded over to Wendy, who backed away a little bit. Did Irene recognize her in this state?

“I-Irene unnie?”

The black wolf blinked at her and then collapsed onto her side.

“Unnie!” Wendy rushed to the big beast’s side and pressed a hand to her blood-drenched muzzle. “Unnie, change back! And then we can go home—“ she quickly cut herself off. “We can go back to sleep!”

The beast grunted softly and slowly changed back into human Irene.

“Wendy…” the older girl murmured weakly. “Did…did you miss me?”

“Idiot!” Wendy slapped her cheek. “I was worried!”

Irene hummed softly, but didn’t answer. Her eyelids fluttered open and she gazed at Wendy. “Worried? I thought you were over me.”

Wendy glowered a little bit and looked away. “W-Well…you saved me numerous times.”

“True.” Irene tried to sit up, but was still sore from the fight. At least her wounds had closed up somewhat. She was just tired. “It’s good to see you, though.”

For the first time since they met, Irene gave her a small smile.

Wendy didn’t know what came over her. She wrapped her arms tight around Irene and buried her nose in her shoulder. The latter tensed briefly but relaxed and held Wendy close.

“D-don’t be so reckless anymore!” Wendy scolded her.

Irene chuckled softly. “Sometimes, you have to…” She pat her head. “Come on. Let’s go back before I pass out.”

“Wait.” Wendy ran back to pick up Irene’s fallen items.

She seemed amused when Wendy returned with her belongings. “You’re too cute.” Irene grunted as Wendy helped her onto her feet.

They slowly walked back to the dorm, but Irene had to stop every once in a while because her midsection was still hurting from the battle. There must be a bad bruise or something even if her wound had closed up. She slipped her hand into Wendy’s and squeezed tightly. Warm energy flowed up her arm and settled all over her body, giving her strength to keep moving.

Wendy is mine, Taeyeon.


	11. Irene's Journal

As soon as they stepped into the dorm, Irene collapsed onto Wendy and knocked them down to the floor. The wind was knocked out of the smaller girl leaving her dazed for a few seconds before she realized that Irene wasn’t moving.

“Unnie?”

Wendy turned her head to the side and nearly had a heart attack when she saw how close Irene’s lips were. They looked so soft and perfectly plump but not too plump at the same time—

Ugh! What are you thinking? She immediately proceeded to pushed Irene off her though it took much effort. Irene didn’t appear to carry much weight to the naked eye. She was lean and only a bit taller than Wendy—but she was actually pretty heavy…for Wendy at least.

When she grasped Irene’s arm to move it off her, she could feel the firm definition of muscle. Now she knew why Irene could really pack a punch, and also why it was so easy for Irene to carry her around everywhere.

Once Wendy rolled Irene off of her, she scrambled off to the other side of the room. That was a close one. They were literally toooooo close for her liking—not that she didn’t like it, but…it felt weird. She considered running off back to her own dorm, but just as she was agreeing with herself that it was an excellent idea, one glance at Irene’s limp form on the floor turned her decision upside down.

Yeah but why should I? She doesn’t even like me.

In response, her mind replayed the moments Irene saved her, and also the recent events. Did you miss me?

I thought you were over me…

It’s good to see you…

And inevitably, the memory of Taeyeon kissing her returned sending new shivers of horror down her spine. Wendy shook her head and slapped her own cheeks to help temporarily wipe out the bad inkling. There were more important things to deal with right now.

Slowly, she crawled over to Irene and poked her head a few times, but there was no response.

“Unnie, wake up.” She shook her shoulder.

Irene was dead to the world.

Wendy gazed down at the older girl thoughtfully. She must be very tired after the battle.

But how would she get Irene up on the bed? It was already established that Wendy wasn’t as strong as Irene, and probably wouldn’t be strong enough to even lift her up one inch from the ground. She still tried, but her point was proved—she couldn’t do it.

The younger girl leaned against the side of the bed trying to find another solution though there really wasn’t much she could do about it anymore anyway. Instead, she pulled down the bed sheet and tossed it over Irene’s body. Now would be a good time to go hide in the comfort of her dorm…except she couldn’t bring herself to leave.

Part of the reason was she feared to run into Taeyeon or Tiffany again while she was practically defenseless. Another part of her just felt reluctant to be away from Irene, though she tried to convince herself that it was simply genuine concern for her condition.

Wendy returned to Irene’s side and fixed the sheet nicely. The older girl appeared so serene and perfect in her sleep. There was no sharp, unimpressed expression on her face—only peacefulness of a beautiful goddess.

We could have been beautiful…She suddenly remembered Taeyeon saying that weird statement.

What did that mean? Did Taeyeon and Irene once have a ‘thing’ going on?  
Her chest twisted inside out, but she ignored it. Thinking about all these things wasn’t going to help. Maybe she was just tired too.

Wendy lay down beside Irene and watched her sleep for a little bit. She had never had the opportunity to be this physically close to anyone, though she wasn’t much of a skinship person anyway…

She did kind of like Irene’s rare acts of affection no matter how much she insisted to herself that the older girl was mean and definitely not her type.

Wait…type?

Since when did she have a ‘type’?

Ugh…not again! Wendy bit her knuckle in an effort to force herself to get out of that mindset. Anyway, Irene definitely wouldn’t be interested in a nuisance like me, she thought sullenly to herself.

Wendy knew she should have left with this convenient opportunity, but she fell asleep conflicting over the decision.

\--

“Wendy saw us fight.”

“As long as she’s taking the pills she won’t mind.”

“That’s the problem,” Taeyeon growled. “She isn’t taking the pills.”

“Eh? I’m sure we sent new package.”

“Well, if you did she isn’t taking them.” Taeyeon beat her fist on the desk. “I can’t really detect her scent so she must be taking something else.”

“Hm. How do you know that? How do we know you’re not just making hell for us?” the other figure snarled with green eyes glowing bright. “We’re already doing our best to keep things on low tone for you, especially since Irene seems to be getting involved.”

“Fuck that mutt,” Taeyeon hissed. “I know because if she were taking the pills it would have been easy for me to manipulate her. She would only have eyes for me!” she spat the last part. “But now I sense that she is somehow becoming closer to Irene.”

The other person chuckled snidely. “Looks like Irene is picking up her game.”

“Shut up! A half-breed like her can’t match the power of the Arcane species.” Taeyeon stomped out of the dark office. “I will find a way…and I will destroy anyone who gets in my path.”

\--

Wendy felt a warm and gentle touch on her cheek.

In fact, her whole body felt warm and comfy. She nestled closer against the source of comfort noting that it was quite soft as it was solid.

Then, she heard a soft chuckle.

And she instantly realized where she was and what was actually going on.

Quick as lightning, she shot away from Irene, slipping off the bed and landing unceremoniously on her backside.

“Good morning to you too, Wen-Wen,” Irene peeked over the side. “We were so comfortable. Why did you run away?”

“W-w-wh…I-I…what…” Wendy couldn’t form any coherent words as she stared up at the other girl who was obviously amused.

Irene hopped off the bed and scooped her in her arms to set her back in the sheets again. “It was nice cuddling with you. I didn’t know you stayed all night with me until I woke up.” She sat down cheerily. “I’m pretty sure you would have run away as soon as I was gone.”

Wendy looked away. “I didn’t.”

“I know. But my back hurts even more. It was already hurting from the fight.” Irene took her chin in her fingers and turned her back towards her.

“I’m not strong enough to get you up here,” Wendy retorted and pushed her hand off. “Can’t you just be thankful that I tried my best for once? I went out alone in the middle of the night to find you.” She turned away from her crossly.

“I wasn’t saying it was your fault.”

“You kind of did.”

Irene pulled her back and leaned over her. “Are you angry?”

“Leave me alone. I’m tired.” Wendy flopped onto her stomach and buried her nose in the pillow so she wouldn’t have to look at the other girl. I should have gone back as soon as I could.

Unfortunately, the older girl took this as an opportunity to cuddle her again. “Thank you for coming to find me then,” Irene murmured against her neck sending shivers down Wendy’s spine. “Does that mean you like me more than Taeyeon?”

“What?” Wendy tried to scrabble away from underneath Irene, but was ultimately trapped in the latter’s arms.

Irene rubbed her cheek against Wendy’s back and sighed contentedly. “This is nice, isn’t it?”

Wendy ignored her. Why was Irene suddenly being all cuddly and weird again? She sighed in annoyance and shut her eyes. If they were going to be stuck like this she may as well try to sleep again.

Her heart nearly skipped a beat when Irene gently tucked her hair back behind her ear. The feeling of the older girl’s fingers against the shell of here ear was shocking…it sent tingles all the way down her spine to her toes, all the way to the tips of her fingers and even to the top of her head.

Wendy hated this. Irene was so strange and seemingly bipolar. One minute she was savage and merciless, but the next she was suddenly eager for a cuddle. Irene was a wolf so maybe that’s why she had all those mood swings. One could never tell with animals, especially since Wendy was still getting to know this human that could morph into a wild canine. That still made no sense at all.

“You’re so comfy, Wen-Wen,” Irene commented appearing to sound content with their position. “I could sleep like this all day.”

Wendy felt happy—strangely.

But she didn’t show it.

Irene was being weird. Maybe she got knocked upside the head the other night and it was making her act strangely.

Irene poked her shoulder. “Hey. Are you asleep?”

Wendy shut her eyes tight hoping to make her leave her alone by faking sleep. She felt Irene lean close and then move away. The sheets were pulled higher over her shoulders and the other weight on the bed was gone. She heard the bathroom door close meaning that Irene was going for a shower.

As soon as she heard the water turn on, she quickly hopped out of bed. Irene should think twice before making another joke and thinking that she and Wendy were on a friendlier basis. Wendy still didn’t trust her anyway. She didn’t trust anyone here, not even Taeyeon…

Especially now that she knew about these wolf humans, she wasn’t sure what to think of this place anymore.

Am I the only human?

Wendy started to head to the door with one more glance at the bathroom door. There was yet for Irene to finish the shower. As she was turning back to her escape, she spotted the red composition book Irene was reading the other day.

Don’t touch anything on this desk! She recalled Irene snarling at her threateningly.

But what could be so important in this book? A diary? Wendy glanced at the cover, which was blank. When she opened to the first page there was a date from a couple years ago. It must have been the beginning of Irene’s sophomore year.

This is the only way I can assure myself of my sanity. Everyone else has been brainwashed, and those who are not…I’m not sure where they went. I only know Joy and Seulgi, my two closest friends, have transferred out of here safe and unscathed to a different school somewhere in the states.

I envy them.

But it’s too late for me because I am now like everyone else here. I cannot return to the real world.

I don’t like keeping diaries because I’m too tired at the end of the day to even write any more than what I have to. Unfortunately, I have no one to confide in except myself.

I have to be careful…

\--

I forgot to write again. Nothing significant has happened…just the usual. New freshman blundering about dumbly like excited puppies in the barn. They don’t even know what they’re in for. If only they could know—but I’m being watched.

The Arcane wolves have eyes everywhere. Even now as I write, with the curtains closed, my door locked and every nook and cranny checked over, I’m not sure if somehow they are watching me. I haven’t found any camera in here luckily, but even still I have made sure to cover up just in case. Privacy isn’t an option here…

\--

I saw Taeyeon with a sophomore today. Strange. I thought she would be after another freshman after what happened between us. Anyway, perhaps her taste has changed and she is turning to other students. The girl’s name is Tiffany. I haven’t talked with her, but we did have a few classes last year. She’s a voice/Broadway major, although…after this I’m not sure she’ll even go to Broadway.

Taeyeon saw me, and pointed me out to Tiffany.

Who knows what she’s said to her and everyone else about me…

Wendy turned over a few more pages near the end of the comp book.

Something’s been off about Tiffany lately.

She’s hot and bothered and I can scent her lately…

I wonder if she and Taeyeon…

It was confirmed. I overheard that Taeyeon has impregnated Tiffany. How is that possible? She can’t have a d—. She’s a girl! Unless there’s something about Arcanes that I really don’t know, which is a lot.

I can’t believe it.

Wendy sifted through the pages with dates that were sometimes consistent and sometimes skipping days. They were mostly about nothing important until the end of the year.

Tiffany gave birth to the Arcane child, but the baby was already dead when it came out. After that, Taeyeon dumped Tiffany leaving her depressed for a long time. When Tiffany recovered, she was completely changed and a bit crazy…

That sort of explained the tall girl’s odd behavior towards Wendy.

And it did seem to explain a few other things around here…

She didn’t know Irene had friends once.

She closed the comp book and set it back in its original position. Too much time had been wasted reading Irene’s diary…and she really shouldn’t have snooped.

“I thought I told you not to touch anything on my desk.”

Wendy gasped and immediately turned to find Irene leaning on the doorway of the bathroom freshly showered and with a towel hanging on her shoulder.

“I-I…I…”

“No excuses. I caught you.” Irene stepped forward and snatched the composition book and a few other things, which she shoved into the drawer. There was a lock mechanism between the edge of the desk surface and the first drawer beneath, and Irene attached a combination lock to it. “Haven’t you learned your manners? This is my business.”

“Sorry…” she faltered.

Irene huffed in annoyance, but said nothing. She tossed her clothes in the hamper and hung the towel on a peg in the wall.

When she turned, Wendy had every reason to feel instant regret, and fear.

Irene was smirking at her, with an expression that didn’t seem too good.

“What to do with you now?” Irene stepped nearer as Wendy stepped back.

“I…I…” Wendy searched for words she could say. She already apologized…what else could be said?

“You…?” Irene prompted. Her voice was eerily soft, and she kept approaching.

Wendy knew that soon she would be cornered. She needed to get out. Maybe if she let herself get pinned to the door, she could unlock the door and make an escape back to her dorm. Gulping nervously, she continued her path backwards, hoping that the plan would actually work. Sure enough, Irene had her trapped against the door.

“Go on,” Irene coaxed. “What else did you want to say?”

Wendy prayed her hand wouldn’t fumble. She reached for the handle and leaned on it…

Except she forgot that the door opened inwards and not out.

NOOOOOOO!  
Irene giggled, not cutely, but really ominously. “You’re funny. Did you really think you could escape, Wendy?” She lifted up the younger girl easily and set her back down on the bed. The scary playfulness was gone as she towered menacingly over Wendy. “Why did you disobey me? That is my diary, and I know you know very well that diaries are private.”

Wendy gulped but kept her mouth shut. I’m such an idiot. Why did I snoop?

“You have nothing to justify yourself, hm?” Irene pressed. “You’re in big trouble, Wen-Wen.”

Curiosity definitely killed the cat.

Wendy shivered involuntarily and shrank back as Irene’s eyes seemed to flare with wild light. “I think I’m going to enjoy this.”

In response to her growing fear, Wendy kicked out at Irene landing a hit straight in the gut, which knocked the air right out of the older girl. She scrambled backwards toward the other side of the bed while Irene gasped for air.

“W-why did you do that?” Irene wheezed. She sat down on the bedside holding her middle and collapsed backwards.

Wendy only watched from where she was. There was no telling what would happen next with Irene.

“Whatever you read in the diary,” Irene managed to say once she caught her breath. “Perhaps now you have a better idea of what you’re doing here.” She grunted as she sat up to look at the younger girl. “You’re next on Taeyeon’s list.”

\--

\--

Wendy stared at her in horror. “Y-you mean…p-pregnant? She wants me to…”

“Precisely.”

“B-but why?”

Irene shrugged. “Why does the sun rise in the east and set in the west? They want purebred Arcane wolves and they have certain criteria that must be met. It appears you are the desired specimen, and by the end of this year, she will impregnate you even if you don’t want it.”

Wendy gave her a weird look. “That’s not real! Are you sure you haven’t lost your sanity?”

“Oh it is real, Wendy. Believe me, and if you don’t now, you will later.” Her eyes were now glowing blue with passionate anger. “Once they have their hands on you, you will become a vessel of reproduction. Your whole life will be dedicated to reproducing Arcane wolf-humans. I don’t know why and I don’t know what their plan is. But you have to trust me. I’m trying to protect you.”

“Why would you protect me if all you’ve indicated is how much I’m annoying to you?” Wendy demanded accusingly. “Wouldn’t you rather get rid of me?”

“Get rid of you? Might be nice. At least they won’t get their grimy hands on you,” Irene mused while her eyes became docile dark brown again. “But no. They would kill me, and taking your life is not worth dying for.”

Irene stared intently into her eyes. “You keep running away, but I will keep chasing you down. I can’t let them have you.”

The older girl’s eyes became the purest sky blue again, boring deeply into Wendy’s. “Why don’t you go to sleep, Wen-Wen?” she murmured. “As thanks for coming to find me last night, you’ll have a good rest today.”

Wendy felt herself falling into those blue eyes no matter how hard she tried to fight it. She protested futilely, her words jumbled and incoherent.

Irene pushed her down onto the mattress and stroked her head softly. “Why are you so cute when you’re tired? It reminds me of a puppy…or even a kitten.”

Eventually, Wendy gave in once again, and entered the deepest darkness of slumber.


	12. Disperse the Fog

Midterms arrived faster than Wendy could run, and so was the holiday just around the corner—Thanksgiving that is. She was very anxious to send a call home and tell someone she trusted about this living nightmare.

The good thing about midterms was there was hardly any time for anyone to bother her or Irene. Besides the hectic studying, they had a relatively peaceful week. No fights and no sizzling stare-down/arguments with Taeyeon or Tiffany, or anyone else for that matter. There were still the occasional stares since the word had spread about Irene and Taeyeon’s nighttime battle. Wendy and Irene had also become a topic of gossip since they were spending more time together, and because Irene had beat up some other people besides Tiffany for messing with Wendy.

Wendy didn’t like the uninvited attention, but Irene told her to ignore it. Besides, they knew nothing of their relationship—whatever Irene meant by that.

As always, Irene walked her to class, but didn’t always come to pick her up. She had her own midterms to attend to, so Wendy was on her own the majority of the time.

“So…you and Irene, huh?” Krystal said when the both of them exited their math exam.

“What about it?” Wendy asked warily. She wasn’t yet prepared for someone to confront her about this.

“I’m just surprised,” Krystal replied. “I mean, Irene is an outcast even though she is still attending the school.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…I don’t know much about it, but she had a fight with Taeyeon in her freshman year. She almost died, but her body was able to accept and accommodate the pathogens from the Arcane Alpha. She is technically an Arcane too, but only partially.”

“Um…”

“I’ll spare you the details. I’m not too sure about it myself, but you should be flattered Taeyeon has chosen you.” Krystal gave her a last wave before heading out of the building.

Wendy stood alone pondering over what her classmate told her. She didn’t know Irene and Taeyeon fought previously. And she didn’t even know about some strange pathogen that could affect a human. What was all this? Did this have to do with the students here being wolves?

She stepped out of the building and headed back to the dorm. Irene told her to go to her dorm if she wasn’t around to see her.

Wendy slid the card into the door, revealing an empty room. Irene wasn’t back yet. She had the option to return to her own room and make the latter find her, but she didn’t feel like being difficult. Over the time she had been staying over, a few of her own belongings were now added to Irene’s place so that Wendy wouldn’t have to go back and forth between rooms. Irene also seemed to like passing her clothes onto Wendy for some reason.

It was just another way for Irene to keep an eye on her, she mused.

That girl was just so weird and really overprotective of someone who she didn’t even like.

Things still weren’t making sense after all this time.

Wendy was quite anxious to talk things over with someone she trusted—her family. Soon, midterms would be over and she could finally call them. She recalled her promise to contact them…how did she forget?

She settled down on the bed and pulled out her materials for the remaining midterm exam. Just one more left. What a relief.

\--

Wendy finished her final exam, but she was the last one left. Her professor wasn’t even here. She got up and left it on the teacher’s desk before heading out.

The hallways were empty.

Where was everyone? She continued trekking down the walkway and proceeded to exit the building. However, the doors were locked shut from the inside. Wendy went around to try every exit, and even the fire route, but alas, they were locked.

“Wendy!”

Taeyeon was standing behind her. “Wendy, where are you going?”

“Why can’t I leave?”

The other girl smiled. “Come back. There’s no need to leave.” She took Wendy’s hand and began tugging her away from the door. “You’re safe with me.”

She protested but still ended up getting dragged with Taeyeon. They went through a labyrinth of hallways and turns—seemingly going around in no particular route. Suddenly, Taeyeon pinned her to the wall, the sound of her hands slamming on either side of Wendy’s head echoing in the silence. She leaned in close and brushed her nose against Wendy’s.

The younger girl gulped nervously and tried to shy away, but there was a wall prohibiting her of her movements.

She shut her eyes tight wishing Irene would interrupt this.

When she opened her eyes again, Irene was standing in front of her. Taeyeon was out of sight.

“Saved your butt again,” Irene said with a smirk.

Relieved, Wendy literally sprang on the older girl and buried her nose in her shoulder. She was so glad Irene was here.

Slowly, Irene’s arms wrapped around her waist and she felt their bodies pressed close together. It was so safe…and warm…

But there was a loud crash behind them, and there was a giant black wolf with gleaming red eyes.

Wendy snapped awake to find that she was alone in the bed.

“Unnie?”

“Oh, sorry.” Irene grunted. “I just walked into the wall. Go back to sleep.”

The younger girl sat up rubbing her eyes to find Irene picking herself off the floor. “Why didn’t you turn on the light?” she asked.

“Didn’t want to bother you,” Irene replied as she settled back in the bed.

“I wouldn’t have minded.”

“I would.”

“But I’m not you.”

Irene gently pushed Wendy back down onto the mattress and pulled the sheets over them. “Now you’re awake. You’ll be tired during your exam.”

“It’s ok…really.”

There was no response and she heard Irene breathe steadily beside her. The older girl must be asleep again. Wendy turned her head, her eyes adjusting to the darkness to find the silhouette of Irene’s side profile. Her hand accidentally brushed against Irene’s under the covers. Quickly, she flinched away in case Irene would awake but that did not happen.

Suddenly, there was loud howling, which sent shivers down Wendy’s spine. It reminded her of the first full moon she spent at this school, and the battle between wolf-Irene and wolf-Taeyeon. Instinctively, she shrank into the covers and pressed against Irene’s shoulder. She felt unsettled with the howling, but laying beside Irene sort of helped calm her down.

After a while, Wendy managed to relax and fall asleep.

\--

Wendy finished off the last page of her midterm exam. She was so glad it was over, and luckily was able to answer most of the concepts confidently.

As soon as she turned in the exam and stepped out of the classroom, she felt the heavy weight of stress lifted from her shoulders. She was finally free!  
Irene wasn’t waiting for her. She had her own exams to attend to and since Irene wasn’t going to be back for another hour, Wendy decided to try and call home. Wendy was anxious to speak to someone she trusted and someone who truly loved her unconditionally. She wasn’t sure about telling them her experiences here since everything that had happened lately felt like something out of a fairy tale book. So she decided not to tell them. Anyway, the point was to speak to them again, and do some catching up. What were her parents doing now that they had the house to themselves?

Wendy remembered she told them she would call back. They must be worried after not keeping contact for many months.

She went to the school directory and scanned the map for the main office where there were telephones available.

“Hello there,” a deep voice sounded behind her.

Alarmed, she whipped around to find an older boy standing behind her.

“Don’t be scared. I’m not gonna attack.”

That didn’t help much for his credentials. “Who are you?”  
“Sorry for scaring you. I’m Sehun. I’m also a senior here.”

“Ok…”

“You hang out with Irene, right?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“You and Irene seem pretty close,” he stated as if that were going to clear up any confusion.

Wendy didn’t answer. What did he want and what did he mean by that. “I’m a little busy.” And she quickly walked away.

\--

The person behind the front desk smiled at Wendy when she walked in, and then went back to typing away on the computer. Wendy got an antique feeling from the building. There was a giant chandelier hanging in the middle of the ceiling, and the furniture was old polished oak wood. Even the walls were a wine red color with old style wallpaper.

Wendy walked into a room where there were telephones that appeared to be like the ones on the street. The room was completely empty. She was just about to reach for a phone when she could literally feel another presence at the doorway—one that was too familiar to be mistaken.

“What are you doing?” Irene demanded in a condescending tone.

Wendy turned to her but did not answer her.

“I just passed Sehun and your scent was mixed with his,” Irene growled disapprovingly. “Now just what were you doing?”

When the younger still did not say anything, Irene smirked with distaste. “Cheating on me, hm?”

“What?” Wendy cried out in protest. “We’re not even dating!”

“That’s not what it looks like to me.” Irene leaned on the doorway preventing any escape from Wendy. “What do you think you’re doing in here?” she suddenly snarled.

“I’m calling home.”

“Home?” Irene’s eyes flashed with something that wasn’t annoyance or anger. “You can’t,” she said curtly.

“Why?”

“Because I said so. You can’t and you shouldn’t and I won’t let you.”

Wendy didn’t move an inch and met Irene’s glare. “They’re my family, Irene. You can’t take me from them.”  
“It’s not what you think.” Irene stepped into the room her eyes glowing blue. “Now listen to me…”

Wendy pushed her away, her hand digging into Irene’s gut causing the older girl to lose air. She huffed and gasped as she held her middle. “Wendy!” she hissed.

But she was on a different agenda. Wendy grabbed the phone and began to dial the number.

“Drop the phone, Wendy!”

Wendy ignored her and waited for someone to answer or for the answering machine, but after three rings, the automated voice system replied.

This number is no longer in use…

That couldn’t be right. Wendy hung up and tried again, but she got the same message again. How could this be possible? Did her parents leave? Did something happen? What if they were dead and she didn’t know about it?

The phone dropped from her hand as she stared into space.

“Wendy?” Irene called tentatively. “What’s the matter?”

I’m really all alone…

Before she could do anything to stop herself, tears were already falling from her eyes.

“Hey…” Irene touched her shoulder. “Are you alright?”  
“No!” Wendy suddenly rounded on her. “I was never alright! I just want to be alone!” She began to storm out of the room, but Irene blocked the way.

“You can’t let them see you like this,” Irene said firmly.

“What do you care? You don’t understand!” Wendy tried to push past, but Irene didn’t let her. Instead, she held the younger girl in her arms.

“Quiet down, Wendy.” Irene seemed to make an attempt to console her, but Wendy wasn’t interested. They ended up struggling against the other, though Irene was the obvious winner. She had Wendy tight in her arms.

“Let go!” Wendy whined through her tears.

Irene hushed her and gently stroked her back. “You don’t believe me,” she murmured. “But I do understand. It happened to me too.”

The younger girl sobbed into her shoulder no longer trying to fight her. Irene lifted her up bridal style and carried her out of the building.

Once they were back in the dorm, Irene set Wendy on the bed. The younger girl curled up into a ball away from her and buried her face in Irene’s pillow. She was so embarrassed to be caught crying, and she felt so shameful for some reason. She expected Irene to be triumphant about this, or even disdainful, but there wasn’t any of that. Irene had been so gentle.

And she still was.

The older girl was sitting on the bed with her, but not touching her.

It was very quiet.

Her sniffling subsided, and her eyes were all cried out. She was tired, and all she wanted to do was sleep.

As if on cue, Irene laid a blanket over her and nestled into the bed with her—literally spooning her.

Wendy didn’t have the strength to protest or push her away. She was overridden with distress, and all she wanted to do was forget.


	13. 13

Wendy was back in her own room at home. The sun was shining through the window peacefully brightening up the place in contrast to the dim lit dorms at the conservatory. Relief settled in her chest. Perhaps it was all a bad dream.

“Wendy, come down for breakfast, honey!” she heard her mother calling from the other side of the door.

Yes. It had to have been a nightmare.

She quickly got ready excited to see her parents after thinking she would never see them again. But when she reached the end of the stairs, it was Taeyeon and Tiffany sitting in the spots her parents should have been occupying.

“W-what?” she stammered at a loss.

“Come to the table, Wendy-dear,” Tiffany purred.

\--

Wendy awoke alone in Irene’s bed. What a deceiving dream…

The room was dim since the curtains weren’t open yet. She checked the time on the clock and saw that it was already afternoon.

Where was Irene?

She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes, which still felt swollen after yesterday. Sullenly, she dragged herself out of bed and brushed her teeth. Just as she finished and washed her face, she heard the front door open signaling Irene’s return.

Wendy suddenly felt wary and embarrassed. She didn’t want to face anyone—especially not Irene. Sadly, she couldn’t hide out in there forever, and Irene would surely say something. Wendy curled into the far corner of the bathroom away from the door, knowing that it was not going to do anything to help her.  
What was going to happen? What was Irene going to say?

What would she say or do…?

After spending eternity in the corner, Wendy finally hauled herself over to the door like a zombie with no legs. There wasn’t a sound on the other side. What could Irene be doing?

Finally, Wendy managed to get on her feet and reach for the doorknob reluctantly. I should have stayed in bed…but who was to say it would have made the situation better? She carefully turned the knob and the door swung open.

Irene looked up from the desk where she was writing in one of the composition books. “I thought you might have found an escape route through the bathroom vent,” she said.

Wendy wasn’t sure if it was a joke or not.

“Hey,” the older girl stood up. “About yesterday—“

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Wendy interrupted and walked past her.

“Wait, where are you going?” Irene barred the way to the door.

“Go away.” Wendy tried to push past but only ended up getting caught in Irene’s arms.

“And let Taeyeon get you? That’s highly unlikely.” Irene easily lifted her and put her back on the bed. “You’re staying here where it’s safe.”

Bitterness rose in Wendy’s chest, and she roughly slapped away Irene’s hand. “Safe? I’m not safe anywhere here!” she snapped. “I was almost raped, and I keep getting hunted down!”

Irene remained calm. “I know. And that’s why I’m protecting you.”

“Well, you sure hate it,” the younger grumbled.

The latter didn’t reply seeming to not have heard her at all. She turned back to her desk where there was a wrapped up something that Irene was rummaging at. Though Wendy was kind of grumpy, she was a bit curious. But as soon as the older girl turned around, she quickly returned to being a grump.

“Hungry?” Irene held out croissant stuffed with tasty edibles. “It’s the easiest thing I could sneak out of the dining place.”

Wendy tried to ignore, but her stomach betrayed her. Still, she pushed Irene away in an effort to maintain her dignity. The latter frowned and held it out to her again only to nearly drop it when Wendy rejected it.

“Come on, princess,” Irene sat down beside her. “You need to eat.”

Princess?! If Wendy had dog-ears, they would have perked all the way to the heavens. “Don’t call me that!” she immediately responded.

To her surprise, Irene was chomping on the sandwich. But maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise since the other girl was always on the unpredictable side. She must be trying to egg Wendy on, taunt her or something…

Suddenly, Irene held Wendy’s chin with one hand and mashed her lips against the younger girl’s. Wendy’s eyes widened and she let her guard down for a moment allowing Irene to push the chewed up food with her tongue into Wendy’s mouth. She gagged and almost coughed it up, but Irene covered her mouth. “Swallow,” she commanded.

The younger girl let out of noise of protest but Irene leaned in real close, with eyes that Wendy could not read at all. So she did as Irene said.

Unfortunately, Irene kept on feeding her in this manner—chewing up the food and giving it to her by mouth.

Wendy couldn’t believe this was happening…being fed by the person she really didn’t want to lean on.

And by mouth too! Who in their right mind would do such a thing?

“I’ve never had the chance to do that with anyone before.”

Wendy wondered why Irene sounded so cheerful. Was this some sort of an accomplishment for her then?

She still sulked until she realized how silent the room became. Irene was sitting quietly beside her, most likely watching her as Wendy felt prickles of discomfort running up her spine. And Wendy made the mistake of glancing to the side to find Irene watching her with amusement. Grumpily, she got off the bed and made to leave, but Irene grabbed her round the waist and tugged her back so that she was now sitting on Irene’s lap.

“How can you leave after such an intimate moment?”

Wendy was sure there was some teasing in Irene’s tone. Ugh. She hated this—Irene toying around with her.

“That was not intimate. It was uncalled for,” she replied irritably.

“You still didn’t tell me what you were doing with Sehun the other day,” Irene reminded her. “You’re supposed to be with me.”

The younger girl released a sigh of exasperation. “I wasn’t doing anything with him. He just passed by and asked me a question, that’s all.”

“Hm? What was the question? Did he ask you out?”

“Ugh! NO! Why is everything about dating and cheating with you?” Wendy fought against her hold, but was ultimately stuck sitting on Irene’s lap, locked in her arms. “Will you let go?”

“You really do like playing hard to get.”

“Am not!” Wendy backhanded Irene’s nose earning her a satisfactory grunt of pain from the latter.

Unfortunately, Irene suddenly dug her fist; thumb first, into Wendy’s abdomen, which knocked the air right out of her. The older girl lay Wendy down onto the bed as she tried to catch her breath again.

“It really hurts when you do that,” Irene pouted. “Can we stop fighting for once?”

“You’re…really annoying,” Wendy managed to say between gasps.

The latter rejoined her on the bed and cuddled her. “Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

But there was no reply because Irene was now asleep, leaving Wendy quite puzzled.

Irene was very strange.

\--

The weekend free of school and studying was quite beneficial. Wendy managed to forget about what had happened when she tried to call her parents the days prior, but she figured that maybe it was a mishap. She could try again later—even if Irene was totally against it. Because of that, Wendy kept the idea to herself.

Everyone was still here. It was just the same as ever except no classes, and no stress for now.

Irene was a little less of a jerk these days, but she didn’t like it if Wendy talked to other people. Also, she was getting a bit too cuddly for Wendy’s liking, but Irene couldn’t be stopped so Wendy let her do whatever she wanted—within reason of course.

On a more stressful note, school was now beginning again after the holiday, and Wendy couldn’t wait for Christmas holiday to come around. Maybe she could still go home. Maybe she could call again. The phone line must have been glitched last time. Although, there was still a slight inkling of misgivings that she really did lose contact with them. But Wendy still tried to remain positive.

She couldn’t possibly be stuck here forever like Irene said.

The week passed like always. Work. Work. And more work. More practicing.

And of course, Irene coming to walk to and from class like always, as well as the incessant stares they’d get as they passed.

But it became customary that soon Wendy didn’t care anymore.

She just focused on how soft and warm Irene’s hand was around hers.

Today, Irene didn’t walk her to her private lesson. She had some place to be that wasn’t anywhere close to the music building so she left Wendy to her own devices. Finally, it seemed that the older girl sort of trusted her to be on her own for a little. Wendy wasn’t really planning to do anything outside of the box anyway.

“Hi, Wendy!” her teacher greeted her cheerily. “We have a guest today.” He walked her into the room. “Today, we’ll be presenting the good work you’ve done to the alpha.”

“Uh…what?” Wendy didn’t mean to sound disrespectful.

“Hello, Wendy.”

She froze and turned to find Taeyeon in the flesh smiling at her from the other side of the room.


	14. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, sorry for not updating here. I'm trying to catch up right now. :) Will post more tomorrow.

The entire lesson, Wendy tried to ignore the creeping fact that something fishy was going on. She managed to focus and put on a good performance in front of the ‘alpha’ as her teacher had said, but she was anxious to get out. It was strange that Taeyeon usually appeared when Irene wasn’t around, but perhaps it was because they weren’t on such friendly terms. Hopefully Irene would be back and waiting for her. 

At the end of the lesson, Taeyeon applauded and complimented her progress. Wendy thanked the both of them and tried to ignore misgivings filling her gut as she put her stuff away. She prayed with all her heart that Irene would be waiting outside for her.

This was another thing Wendy hated. She wasn’t even sure of Irene’s intentions, and though she did despise the older girl at times, she found that she depended on her for safety.

“Are you busy?” Taeyeon asked.

“Kind of,” she replied. “I have a lot of due dates.”

The other girl nodded. “I understand. But why don’t you take a break?”

Wendy backed away towards the door. Please let Irene be out there…

“It’s ok,” Wendy tried to think of the best comeback that would lead to her escape. “Thanks for sitting in on the lesson…” I guess…

“Oh no problem!” Taeyeon placed a hand on Wendy’s shoulder. “It was an absolute pleasure to finally hear your beautiful playing.”

“Um…thanks…”

The two of them left the room, and unfortunately, Irene wasn’t around. What else could she be doing, Wendy wondered.

“So I’ve noticed you and Irene have gotten kind of close,” Taeyeon commented in a nonchalant manner. “I’m surprised since Irene doesn’t take much interest in anyone other than herself.”

Wendy shrugged. “She’s alright.”  
“I’m not trying to condemn you,” Taeyeon said slowly. “But I think you should be careful about who you’re hanging around with. Habits rub off really easily around here.” She leaned in closer so that her breath tickled Wendy’s ear. “And I don’t trust Irene. She runs on her own agenda, so you can never tell what’s going on in that brain of hers.”

“Well, thank you so much for talking about me like this.” Wendy felt arms around her waist and a force pulling her backwards against a solid being. “Although I could say the same thing about you, Kim Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon scoffed. “Irene, you always do turn up at the most inopportune times. Can’t you let me and Wendy have a moment?”  
“You’ve had more than enough of a ‘moment’ together,” Irene retorted. “And I’m taking her back before you play any funny games on us.”

“Us?” Taeyeon laughed. “Irene, I didn’t know you were maturing so quickly. Already soul searching aren’t you?”

“Shut up.”

“Irene, I hope you haven’t forgotten who’s the real alpha here. You can’t ever defeat me.”

“I wouldn’t have to. Because she would choose me and not you.”

The other girl laughed maniacally. “This isn’t about who Wendy chooses, you dumbo. I could steal her from you in the blink of an eye.”

Wendy felt goosebumps rising along her skin. This was very strange…didn’t they know she was right here even as they discussed her? And what was entire ‘alpha’/’soul-searching’ thing they were talking about? 

Courtship? Wendy remembered a long time ago in her high school biology class, they learned about animals in the wild having some sort of courting ritual to find the perfect mate.

Irene rolled her eyes. “As if. You can’t force someone to be your mate.”

Taeyeon smirked. “Since when did this turn into mates, Irene-darling?”  
“You started it!”

“Whatever. Wendy, are you coming?” The other girl began to walk away.

“She’s not going anywhere with you!” Irene growled ferociously.

“Oh calm down, you big baby,” Taeyeon waved her off. “Let her alone. I think she’s tired of you breathing down her neck, right Wendy?”

Caught.

Right in the middle.

She hated monkey in the middle. What a freaking awful game to have been conjured for elementary school students to play. She was the shortest of them all, and could never catch the beanbag.

Wendy pushed Irene off and walked away from the both of them.

“Looks like she doesn’t want you, Irene,” she heard Taeyeon say triumphantly.

“Wen-Wen, wait!”

She must have had a late reaction.

Wendy couldn’t believe they were speaking of her like something to be toyed around with.

Some object that could be tossed and snatched.

She wished she weren’t dragging around her guitar case. It would be easier to run away from Irene, who was begging her to wait. Needless to say, Wendy did not wait up for her.

Tch. As if. Irene never really did wait for her for anything.

“Wendy, where are you going?” Irene finally caught up to her and grabbed her hand.

The younger girl ignored her and tried to tear away from her.

“Wen-Wen, are you mad at me?”

She suddenly whirled on the crazy alpha. “I’m not something you can just ‘take back’!” she snapped. “I’m not something you can fight over and win!”

“Of course not—“

“I’m a human! I’m my own person! You don’t own me!” Wendy stuck her finger in Irene’s face. “I swear, Irene. You’re getting on my last nerves—actually, you’ve been getting on my nerves for a while and I tried to put up with it because I don’t want to be a jerk like you!” With the last statement, she shoved Irene roughly. “You think you can do whatever you want with me like I’m some sort of toy.”

Irene blinked at her and stared at her for a few long moments. Wendy had expected to get an immediate scathing comeback from the latter, but there was none.

“I was trying to protect you.”

Wendy let out a heavy sigh and walked away again. “Go away…”

“I really like you.” Irene called out. “I really, really like you…a lot.”

She froze. Even her blood froze in her veins, her heart not even beating anymore, but pulsing in her ears loudly. A blush was working its way to her cheeks, and she kind of felt happy. No! She’s trying to trick you! Keep walking!

“I’m sorry, Wendy,” Irene continued. “I’ve never liked anyone before until now...and I didn’t know how—I thought I was just going through a stage or something…” she spluttered here and there, trying to find the right words which probably were the wrong ones anyway. “I don’t know how to like you!” she ended.

Wendy turned to her with a look of disdain. “You don’t know how to like me?” she echoed in disbelief. “Are you serious? It’s simple! You could have been nicer to me instead of treating me the way you have been! Geez!”

And with that she was storming down the hall again.

“Dammmit!” Irene punched the bathroom wall. “You fucked up big time, Joohyun, you idiot!” she muttered to herself and paced frantically. “She hates me so hard now…what am I going to do? Now she won’t want me and Taeyeon will get her and they’ll have children and I’ll have to watch and cry about what I could have stopped…”

She wailed alone and buried her face in her hands as she sank to the ground in defeat.

But then, determination rose in her chest. She was going to make sure that Taeyeon COULDN’T have her then.

But…she would have to apologize for letting her mouth babble mindlessly before her brain.

Maybe Wendy will forgive her.

Wendy is a nice person.

Irene remembered the night Wendy searched for her. It was so dangerous. Another alpha could have taken her away.

There was still some hope…right?

Also, she needed to make sure no one was bothering Wendy.

Especially if Tiffany happened to be on the prowl again.

\--

“Wendy is getting farther away,” Taeyeon growled angrily. “She’s not taking the pills, and she’s spending too much time with Irene.”

“Hmph. Perhaps you should find another target.”

“No! I need her now!” Taeyeon slammed her fist on the desk knocking over the pen bottle. “Irene is already trying to leave her mark on her!”

“Taeyeon, we are doing our best, but even you know that there is only so much we can do.”

“Fuck. Don’t tell me what I already know. Just do what I ask. Kidnap her. Destroy her willpower if you have to.” Taeyeon’s eyes glowed bright red as blood. “That girl will be mine.”

\--

Wendy didn’t know why she went back to Irene’s dorm.

But she did.

Irene had gone missing again for a while. It was getting dark fast, and Wendy wondered where she was—even though she was telling herself that she didn’t care what Irene was doing.

The sun set fast and it was getting towards the later hours of the night. Wendy sat up and watched the door anticipating that Irene might come back, but nothing happened. She got off the bed deciding to peek through the hole in the door. On the way there, she got distracted with Irene’s open composition book again. There was fresh writing.

And she also remembered Irene telling her not to snoop.

Her eyes acted before the rest of her body, spotting her name among the sea of words on the page. She glanced at the clock and then the door before inching closer to the open book. It seemed to start on another page, where there was more writing from the past few days.

Wendy is really making me tired. I don’t even know why I decided to protect her in the first place. It was just some dumb motherly instinct I must have picked up from this wolf side of me. Ugh. It’s annoying how she’s so helpless when it’s her own fault for having stalkers everywhere. Even worse, Taeyeon is back on my case…

Wendy is kind of cute when she’s mad. Her eyebrows furrow and her lips kind of pucker out when she’s conflicted over something. It’s sort of like a little munchkin having a tiny tantrum.

Wendy came to find me the other night after the battle with Taeyeon. She even threw a rock at the other wolves.

I’ve never noticed how beautiful she is under the moonlight. Her eyes are so round and warm…

I don’t really like fighting with Wendy anymore…I mean not that I did like fighting. But I kind of got a kick out of having those tiny quarrels with her at the beginning.

Maybe because I haven’t had much interaction with other people.

I don’t know. I just want to have a decent conversation with her now, but I don’t think she’d really want friendship with me…

Something has changed. Every time I’m with Wendy, I kept these weird tingly and nauseating feelings in my stomach, but it’s not nausea. And then all I want is to be alone with her. I don’t want anyone being around her except me.

Wendy cried. She went to call her parents, not knowing that the school would cut them off from her. I didn’t want her to find out that way. I don’t know if she would believe me anyway.

I don’t know what they did with her family. No one knows what’s happened to our families. They’re probably brainwashed and reprogrammed to forget us and have a different life than before. It’s messed up.

I think I like Wendy…her eyes, her nose, her lips, her sweet scent…I just want her to be safe with me. Taeyeon can’t have her. Tiffany can’t have her. No one will take her from me.

The door suddenly opened revealing Irene in a slightly disheveled state. Wendy quickly backed away from the desk and stared at her.

“Thank goodness you came back here,” Irene heaved a sigh of relief. “I was afraid someone might have kidnapped you.” She shut the door and locked it securely before taking off her jacket.

Wendy was a bit dazed after what she read.

“Wen-Wen?” Irene broke into her thoughts tentatively. “Are you still mad at me?” She sounded like a timid puppy instead of her initial ferocious snappy self.

“W-what?”

“I…I’m sorry about everything I said. I’m just a loser and a jerk.”

“Belittling yourself isn’t going to do anything,” Wendy pointed out.

“But I am a jerk,” Irene insisted. “I wasn’t nice to you.” She moved closer to Wendy with an expression of uncertainty, which the younger girl never could think Irene would wear. “And I’m sorry…w-will…will you forgive me?”

Wendy wanted to say no and that she hated Irene’s guts, but she didn’t.

After reading Irene’s diary and those feelings/thoughts…Wendy couldn’t help but feel a bit of a light flutter inside.

“Fine,” she managed to say in as grudging a voice as possible.

Her breath caught in her throat when Irene suddenly swept her off her feet and threw them onto the bed, where she nuzzled her cheek furiously. “I promise to be nicer.”

And Wendy was drowning in Irene’s presence, unable to escape the older girl’s sudden act of affection.

I kind of liked it when you were mean...Wendy thought to herself as her mind began to conjure up more horrific future moments of getting swallowed up in Irene's rare acts of affection.


	15. Challenge

Irene’s behavior took a huge turn after the confession. She was much nicer than before and more docile towards Wendy. At first it scared the younger girl because of how fast it happened. She thought Irene was trying too hard, but Irene consistently treated her well.

It felt weird though…

Wendy also noticed that the older girl had become increasingly overprotective of her. She knew Irene didn’t like her mingling with the other students without her, but now, Irene would actually try to scare them off.

“Unnie, he was giving me back my notes,” Wendy said once after Irene successfully made the boy run away “with his tail between his legs”.

“But Wen-Wen, he is stronger than you. He could easily overwhelm you,” the latter countered and pulled her close. “I’m protecting you, remember?”  
And Wendy would sigh in defeat because Irene was protecting her. Still, couldn’t she have some decency and not hound an innocent person?

Sometimes they would clash longer when Wendy was tired of Irene’s consistent over-guarding…

“You were with that boy again!” Irene countered when the younger girl reprimanded her another time. “I have a right to be concerned! He’s another wolf too!”

“According to you, everyone is a wolf!” Wendy retorted. “So that means I can’t talk to anyone? That’s stupid!”

“It is not!”

Wendy glared at her. “You’re crazy. He was absent from class again and needed my notes.”

“Why can’t he ask someone else?”

“Because I have the neatest notes!”

“Don’t make neat notes!” Irene cried. “For goodness sake, why can’t you listen to me for once?”

“No! You listen to me!” Wendy snapped. “You’re treating me like…like…” She struggled to find words to support her next argument. “Just stop it, ok?”

“I won’t,” Irene said firmly. “For as long as you’re here, I’m not going to let anyone touch you.”

Wendy gazed at her for a long while before sighing in defeat for the umpteenth time. “Irene-unnie,” she started slowly and as clearly as possible. “I’m really thankful that you’re doing this for me…but can’t you tone it down a bit?”

Irene’s lower lip quivered slightly and she heavily sat down on the bed, her eyes staring at the floor.

“Unnie, I’m sorry—“

“No, I’m sorry,” Irene told her in a softer tone. “It’s…it is me. I’ve been a wolf for almost three years, and I’m still trying to get used to it—all the new senses and things that I can notice…things that I feel inside me…my whole body whenever I change form.” She glanced up at Wendy. “Wolves get protective of…of their…mates—ah, someone they particularly like…especially alphas…”

“What?”

Irene flopped down onto her back. “I’m a wolf, Wendy. It’s instinct.”

\--

The days became colder as the year was drawing to a close, and as winter was approaching fast. Light layers of snow would lay on the earth now and then, a premonition of the white blanket that would soon cover the earth. Along with that, the nights were harsher…so Wendy was kind of grateful that Irene would cuddle her at night.

“Wen-Wen, wake up!”

Wendy grumbled and pulled the covers over her head. It was the weekend, and she was tired from having only about four hours of sleep this week.

Irene pulled off the covers and pat her cheek. “Come on, wake up! Look outside!”

Grudgingly, Wendy cracked open her eyelids to find Irene hovering above her like an excited puppy. “What?” she grumbled and pushed Irene off.

The older girl literally whipped her off the bed and took her to the window, where the ground and the treetops below were covered in white. A fog was hovering in the air and there weren’t any signs of life.

Wendy simply yawned and rubbed her eyes. “It’s snowing, that’s all.” She disentangled herself from Irene’s arms and went back to the warm bed. “Let me sleep…”

Irene literally hopped onto the bed with her and pulled off the covers. “Why aren’t you excited?”

The younger girl opened one eye to quickly glance at her. Irene’s eyes were glowing like a five-year-old—as if she hadn’t seen snow before. She swore…she had never seen the older girl act nothing like a bulldog until now.

“Why is it so exciting? It’s just a seasonal change.”

“You don’t like it?”

“I’ve experienced it enough,” Wendy replied.

Irene pouted a little bit but sat back. “Ok. I’ll let you sleep a little more.”

Since Wendy was intent on sleeping into the late morning, Irene decided to go for a morning work out. She had been neglecting to do so these days because of schoolwork and exams building up for the end of the first term. Her body felt heavy with stress and lack of exercise anyway. Also, she liked watching the girl sleep. It wasn’t creepy in her opinion. There was something about a sleeping Wendy that quite intrigued her…her soft expression, her beautiful features that were out of this world…

Just the thought of Wendy was making her heart speed up with excitement.

Though it had snowed, it was still early yet. The sun was out again and thawing out the thin sheet of white that covered the school grounds.

But when Irene opened the door to the gym, she was met with darkness. Confusion struck her for a moment until the stench of Taeyeon met her nostrils. The gym lights lit on so suddenly that her eyesight darkened for a little bit.

“So…Irene’s got a little crush on my little Wen-Wen, hm?”

Irene tilted her head, narrowing her eyes challengingly at her rival. “So what?”

“So what?” Taeyeon cried. “Hah! Don’t act like you don’t know what this means!” She stomped over to Irene until they were nose to nose. “You’re trying to steal her from me!” Taeyeon hissed.

Irene wiped off the spittle that had flown from Taeyeon’s mouth to her face. “First of all, I did not steal Wendy from anyone. Second, she likes me more than you!”

The sound of Taeyeon slapping Irene’s face resonated in the big building. “Bullshit!” Her eyes were red with anger. “All you do is boss her around like some big arrogant bitch cuz you can’t handle the fact that she drew easily to me!”

“You think so?” Irene smirked. “You think that acting like a sweetheart will win her over just like that?” She snapped her fingers. “I’m appalled by your deceitful nature!”

“Oh? I don’t drop my puppies so easily, and I definitely would not dump Wendy.”

“Not until you find your next victim,” Irene growled.

“Why do you give a fuck anyway?” Taeyeon shoved her. “You’re just holding her on a leash because you’re afraid to be all alone in the end!”

“I’m not. She’s on my side by her own will.”

There was silence.

And then there was laughter that went on for eons and eons.

“You….y-you—hahahahahahahaha—seriously think that she chose you by her own will?” she demanded between laughs. “Don’t flatter yourself! I can see through you little plan!”

“Plan? There is no plan.”

“Oh please.” Taeyeon rolled her eyes.

“However…I don’t plan on letting you get your sleazy hands on Wendy.”

“I didn’t come here to have a catfight with you,” Taeyeon suddenly changed the course of their scramble. “Tomorrow night. The clearing in the forest.”

“Your territory basically,” Irene intervened.

“Well you have none, idiot.”

“Fine. It’s a deal.” Irene felt her blood boiling enough that she could hear pounding in her ears.

“Good. I’m so glad.” Taeyeon pat her shoulder. “You better train up in about 30 something hours. I’m gonna crush you again.” With a last insincere smile and a loud echoing click of the closing door, Irene was left alone in the gym.

She turned on the light and dropped her things by the stack of weights. To fight Taeyeon, she needed muscle, but not too much because she still needed speed.

But speed in cold weather?

Irene did a few sets of lifting weights and then ran on the treadmill for thirty minutes.

There wasn’t just physical preparation needed to battle Taeyeon. Irene needed to be alert and witty…she needed the intelligence to see through Taeyeon’s moves. Unfortunately, they were fighting at night, which would prove difficult to anticipate any movement in the shadows. Taeyeon chose well.

Another thing was how to persuade Wendy to stay behind and not to worry about why she was going to be gone all night.

Hypnosis?

Again? Her mind countered.

Irene didn’t like hypnotizing the younger girl. She knew Taeyeon was into that shady stuff. Yet she did feel regret about doing that to Wendy before, but she had no choice at that time.

Maybe she didn’t need to know. Maybe she could pretend she had to run to the store late at night, and Wendy would fall asleep before she returned.

What was most importan, however, was to not die tomorrow night.

Wendy noticed how Irene was acting a bit strangely in the last few hours. She was distracted and distant and constantly looking out in the distance at the forest. Besides that, she would mutter things to herself and let out a soft low growl every now and then.

During dinner, Irene continuously stabbed her fork through her food—the beef, the potatoes, the vegetables…

It was a little annoying actually. Irene would have a plate full of mushed destroyed food by the time Wendy was done with her own food.

“Irene-unnie,” she started.

The older girl was still absent.

The younger girl narrowed her eyes and then kicked Irene’s shin.

“Ow!” the latter cried out and pouted at her. “What was that for?”

But as Irene was saying that, Wendy shoved a piece of bread in her mouth.

“Eat,” Wendy said firmly. “Eat instead of killing your meal with that fork.”

Irene took the bread out of her mouth and glared at Wendy. “You didn’t have to kick me.”

“Well talking to you was like talking to a brick…all day,” the younger replied. “Are you feeling ok?”

“Just fine.” She tore into the bread from Wendy. Wendy fed me! She wouldn’t do that for Taeyeon! She thought to herself triumphantly. But then she began to wonder if it would have been different had Taeyeon won her over at the beginning.

Never mind.

Wendy was with her now, and Wendy seemed to accept her.

As they were finishing up, Taeyeon joined them with a friendly smile at Wendy. “Well hello, Wendy.” She placed a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “Sorry I haven’t seen you much. It’s been busy.”

Wendy flinched and glanced at Irene before shooting one at Taeyeon. She felt slightly uncomfortable and tried to pull back without making it obvious.

“Well, I’m glad you’re making good company for Irene here,” Taeyeon continued. “She’s usually hiding in the corner.”

When the younger girl glanced at Irene, she could see the fiery disdain in her…blue eyes.

Taeyeon smiled again and pat Wendy’s head. “Enjoy the rest of your meal.”

Once the other girl walked away, Irene began grumbling to herself and stabbing her food again. “How can I enjoy it when I can smell your stinking butt a mile away?”

She kicked Irene’s leg again causing the older girl to snap out of her own thoughts and continue eating, but only with another glare at Wendy.

\--

\--

Tonight was the night.

It was freezing cold.

Biting to the bone.

But Taeyeon chose the date well.

In this weather, it was difficult to pick up any scents, and Irene was not very familiar with Taeyeon’s territory. She definitely had a disadvantage.

The one worry on her mind was Wendy. It was actually about 1:30AM right now. Irene had waited about an hour and a half to ensure that the younger girl was asleep before sneaking out.

It was damn cold, but she couldn’t risk using extra because it could be a disadvantage. She snuck around the side of the building and to a fence where a hole had been scooped out underneath. The wolf-girl squeezed herself underneath until she was on the other side staring into the dark recesses of the forest.

There was howling, and her senses immediately heightened. A growl rumbled deep in her throat and her eyes became a bright glowing blue. Without a second of hesitation, Irene proceeded to slide down the muddied snowy incline.

Behind her, amber eyes glowed in the darkness where a spying Tiffany was grinning to herself. “Perfect,” she hissed to herself.

Wendy was curled snugly in the blankets, her nose buried in Irene’s vanilla scented pillow. (Irene purposefully made sure she was surrounded with the warmth and the vanilla scent to trick her mind into staying asleep…although, she wondered if the plan would fail anyway.) She was having a most stressful dream though. A wolf was chasing her—a giant wolf the size of an elephant was chasing her in a forest. She could feel its hot breath against the back of her neck as it huffed and puffed loudly.

Wendy took a sharp turn and fell down into the ravine crashing through the brush and undergrowth.

Her breath caught in her throat when she spotted the fast rushing water approaching.

As soon as she landed in the water, a tree cracked loudly over her and she woke up.

Alone.

“Irene?” she called softly.

When she felt around the bed, the other girl was not here.

Wendy sat up quickly and looked around the silhouettes in the darkened room. No one was here. She got out of bed despite how cold it was, and turned on the light. There was a note on the floor.

Did Irene leave that?  
She picked up the note, which seemed to be hurriedly scribbled on.

Wendy, sorry I had to leave without notice. Please meet me at the fence near the forest. I have a surprise for you. –Irene.

Strange…

Irene never did this to her before. And Irene would never let her walk alone without her.

Nonetheless, Wendy changed into warm clothes and headed out of the dorm. What kind of surprise did Irene have at this time of night? They should be sleeping!

The school grounds were empty, but there was some howling in the distance. She hugged herself to maintain warmth as she walked the path that Irene took earlier. The only thought on her mind was why Irene would decide to show her something in this situation. As she turned the corner behind the building to the area on the note, she wasn’t met with Irene.

It was…

“Wendy, darling!” Tiffany gushed and swept her off her feet before she could do anything. “I’ve missed you so much!”

“Let go!” Wendy tried to disentangle herself from the captor. “Where’s Irene?”

“Oh! You thought Irene left that note?” Tiffany purred. “It was actually me!"

\--


	16. Chapter 16

Irene stepped carefully through the darkened forest. She paused every now and then to track anything new in between steps. A slight wind rustled through the leaves but it only brought her bland scents of the coming snow, dying undergrowth, and soil.

Eventually she found a commonly trodden path, possibly the steps of Taeyeon and her pack members. This was most likely the way to the clearing, or at least somewhere close to that area.

Heaving a sigh, she looked up at the cloudy night sky peeking through the treetops. Not a sign of the moon’s light.

Taeyeon really did choose the date so well.

No light.

Foreign territory.

This was the perfect way to overthrow someone.

The stench of Taeyeon was increasingly panging her nostrils, and it was also making her blood boil.

Taeyeon was making her lose her sleep. Taeyeon was making her lose quality time spent with Wendy. Taeyeon was making her freeze out here for a bloody fight.

Well, she was going to get that fight.

And Irene was intent on winning it—put an end to that stupid Arcane Alpha.

Finally, the area opened up into the clearing where Taeyeon was nowhere to be seen. Irene stepped into the center, her now blue eyes scanning the premises.

“You finally made it,” a voice hissed into her ear.

Before Irene could react, arms wrapped around her waist and hot breath tickled the shell of her ear. “You shouldn’t keep me waiting, dear.”

“I’m sacrificing sleep for your stupid ass,” Irene snarled and backhanded Taeyeon. She heard the satisfying crack when she found her target.

Quickly, Taeyeon let go to hold her nose and Irene took the opportunity to put distance between them.

In the darkness, Irene could just barely see the smirk playing on Taeyeon’s lips.

“What’s happened to Wendy?” Taeyeon asked. “Don’t you keep her on your side?”

“She’s asleep, and she damn needs it!” Irene snapped. “And leave her out of this! This battle is between us!”

“I like it!” Taeyeon licked her lips showing her fangs as her eyes glowed red. “If only you were this eager to be my little wolf!” There was nasty growling as Taeyeon began to transform into a big red-eyed black wolf.

Irene snarled viciously and also transformed into a blue-eyed black wolf that was just a little smaller than Taeyeon.

Without a second to breathe, both wolves leapt at each other with the intent to shred the other apart.

Meanwhile, Wendy was struggling to be released from Tiffany’s grip, but she was in a disadvantaged position. Due to Tiffany’s height and the way she was holding Wendy, the younger girl’s feet were dangling in the air, and they were too close for her to do any significant fighting.

“Please let me go!” Wendy begged.

“Go? Where do you want to go?” Tiffany murmured in her ear. “Why would you want to go when you could be with me?”

“It’s late. I need to find Irene.”

“Awwwww!” Tiffany gushed. “You do care about that bitch! Poor Taeyeon…No! Poor, poor, poor you. Irene doesn’t give a single fuck about anyone but herself. Don’t be sad because I will heal the cracks in your heart!”

As Tiffany cackled crazily, she began to walk off somewhere away from the forest.

“Wait! W-where are you taking me?” Wendy cried.

“Oh, don’t worry, baby girl. I will take you to a safe place where we will be warm and nobody will disturb us.”

“No!” Wendy wailed loudly, hoping that the sound of her voice might reach somebody’s ears. She didn’t want to be alone with Tiffany. “Let me go!”

“Quiet, darling!” Tiffany purred. “Shhhh! Don’t catch attention or else we’ll be caught!”

“I don’t want to go with you!” Wendy began to kick with her short legs and actually managed to bash Tiffany’s kneecap.

The tall girl dropped her and collapsed to nurse her aching knee. Wendy quickly scrambled to her feet and began to run back to the dorm as fast as she could.

But she did not expect to suddenly get smacked to the ground…by a giant paw?!

The breath was knocked out of her as her whole body was squashed between the ground and the paw. Then, the paw released her and Wendy found herself staring up at a gray and white wolf with amber eyes.

“What…the…hell…?” she muttered to herself. “T-Tiffany?”

The wolf’s ears perked up and she excitedly nudged Wendy before picking her up in her mouth.

“N-no—put me down!” Wendy nearly shrieked because she was dangling almost three stories above the ground.

Everything was a fast blur as Tiffany-wolf ran deep into the forest. Wendy couldn’t cry out for help anymore. The screaming and the cold air burned her nose and throat.

Irene, where are you? Tears burned at the corners of her eyes.

Finally, after the run, Tiffany-wolf set her down and turned back into human form. She scrabbled on the floor to make an attempt to escape, but Tiffany lifted her up easily and took her into a tunnel covered by a drapery of lichen. The dark tunnel opened up to a heavily forested area. She continued walking until they ended up at the mouth of a big cave.

“This is my territory, baby,” Tiffany said. “It’s a cozy place. Do you like it?”

Wendy was paralyzed with fear. She didn’t know what to do or how to escape. It was too dark to see anything so she could risk getting injured in this atmosphere of pure wilderness. Worse, she could encounter another crazy wolf.

Where was Irene? Why wasn’t she in the room tonight?

“Aw, don’t be tired,” Tiffany set her down on a blanket. “We have a whole night ahead of us.”

“W-what are you planning?” Wendy stammered.

Tiffany’s eyes glowed amber and she suddenly pinned the younger girl down and straddled her.

“I’m finally…finally gonna have you,” Tiffany growled in delight. “Irene, Taeyeon…there’s no stopping me! HAHAHAHAHA!”

Tiffany was literally digging into the girl. She mashed her lips against Wendy’s, sucking and licking her regardless of the response she was getting. Then she slobbered wet kisses on Wendy’s cheek and neck. Her hands began to roam the younger girl’s body, trying to cup her small breasts. Growling with annoyance, Tiffany tore apart Wendy’s jacket because it was getting in the way. She fondled Wendy’s chest and then proceeded to shred her shirt with claws.

Wendy was frozen. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how she could fight back when she was already defeated. Tiffany was going to rape her, and Irene wasn’t anywhere nearby to save her.

She shivered when the taller girl sidled down to lick her navel up to her sternum. “Annoying bra,” Tiffany growled. She tore that apart too leaving Wendy’s breasts open to the cold air. “Don’t worry, baby, I’ll warm you up soon enough.” She giggled and leaned down, mouth open, to take a nipple in her mouth.

“P-please stop,” Wendy begged.

Tiffany’s mouth was only centimeters away from her right breast until she froze and made gagging noises. The crazy wolf-girl was pulled away from her andtossed into the wall of the cave.

“You disgusting bitch!” Irene snarled viciously.

\--

The two black wolves lashed at each other fiercely, both of them struggling to make the first critical hit. Taeyeon barreled Irene into a tree knocking them both down and winding the blue-eyed wolf. Howling in victory, she was about to deal heavy damage, but Irene managed to kick her off with her hind legs. However, Taeyeon still slashed beneath Irene’s eye nearly blinding her.

She needed to be careful.

Irene sprang back onto her paws ready to anticipate the red-eyed wolf’s next move.

Then, she heard a loud cry—faint, but subtle in the wind. Distracted, her ears angled to catch the sound as it rang again.

Taeyeon took the chance to leap at her, knock her legs from under her, and pin her down with a triumphant howl.

The wind brought new scents to Irene’s nose—besides her own spilled blood. There was another female wolf nearby, vanilla…and Wendy. Damn! What was she doing out here? Did she really wake up that quickly? She snarled angrily, lashing and snarling, flailing to get Taeyeon off. With one last effort, she was able to grab Taeyeon’s leg in her mouth and chomp down hard.

Taeyeon screeched, pounded her face with her free paw and jumped away.

Irene staggered to her paws, blood dripping from her black fur. This was not the time to win this battle. With a lash of her tail she whirled around and followed the scent of the new wolf.

\--

Wendy quickly covered herself with what was left of her shirt and backed away to the other side of the cave. Her heart was beating fast, her breaths short and ragged. She looked up at the newcomer, who was standing between her and her captor.

“Irene!” Tiffany suddenly popped up like a jumping bean. “How nice of you to join us! I didn’t know you were into threesomes! HEHEHE!”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Irene snarled.

“Aw, I just wanted a little fun! You’re always locked Wendy away from me! I was just going to have a little taste until YOU GOT IN THE WAY!” Tiffany roared the last part and literally turned into a monster. Her eyes became bright amber and she leapt at Irene with claws and shining fangs.

Irene was caught off guard momentarily and grunted as she was knocked onto the floor. Tiffany slashed at her, but Irene managed to deflect the blow with her arm. The taller girl screeched in frustration and made a lunge to sink her teeth into Irene’s neck. However, Irene punched her directly in the mouth knocking out some teeth and drawing blood from her own knuckles and Tiffany’s mouth.

This knocked her opponent back to recuperate, and she took the delay to slip away from her and land a flying punch to her eye. Now fueled with rage, Tiffany retaliated by slashing across Irene’s face, and blinding one of her eyes.

“Bitch…you’re a fucking mutt,” Tiffany snarled. “You can’t defeat pure Arcanes.”

“You’re not a pure Arcane either!” Irene retorted. “Get over the fact that Taeyeon dumped you!”

“I did! I just want to see you dead!” she screamed.

Irene’s eyes flared the hottest blue flames as Tiffany dashed at her. She stood stock still when Tiffany rammed a clawed hand right through her middle.

Wendy watched in horror. Some of the blood had flown onto her face and stained her clothes. Why wasn’t Irene fighting? The other girl continued staring at Tiffany with a pained expression. Was she going to die?  
“Fight me! Fight me! Imbecile!” Tiffany shrieked in her face.

Irene coughed a little bit as blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. Tiffany cackled and twisted her fist around. “Dumb bitch…” she spat venomously. “See? You can’t even fight me! How can you fight Taeyeon?”

Irene cupped Tiffany’s cheek much to both her and Wendy’s shock. She gave her a soft sad smile. “You’re right.”

That seemed to make Tiffany let her guard down. “She’s mine now,” Tiffany sneered.

Wendy nearly had a heart attack. No! Why would Irene do this to her? She felt a knot building in her throat. Despite of the past, and how annoyingly protective Irene could be…she didn’t want to be with anyone else! Especially not Tiffany.

“One more thing…” Irene said weakly.

Tiffany waited.

And that was the biggest mistake.

Irene suddenly dug her thumb into Tiffany’s eye, viciously glaring at her all the while.

“NOOO! NOOOO! MY EYYYEEEEEE!” Tiffany screeched. “I’m sorry! I’m sooooorrry! Let me goooo!”

Irene did let go, but not without another punch that threw Tiffany to the floor in a pitiful wailing heap.

“I’m sorry! I promise not to bother you anymore!” Tiffany sobbed.

“Get out!” Irene barked.

And Tiffany beat it out of there.

Irene turned to Wendy, but her eyes were back to normal brown. She took one step towards her, and Wendy couldn’t help shrink away after what she witnessed. “Irene…” she whispered hoarsely.

The other girl joined her and held her close. Wendy buried her nose into Irene’s shoulder as her tears began to fall freely. “I’m sorry…I didn’t know…she tricked me…”

“I shouldn’t have left you,” Irene murmured. “I’m so sorry.” She pulled back to wipe away Wendy’s tears with her sleeve.

“She was going to…r-rape me…”

Irene hushed her and stroked her cheek. “She won’t be bothering you anymore, Wendy.”

Wendy sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She looked up at Irene, who pressed her forehead to hers.

She felt warmer now that Irene was here.

She felt safe.

Slowly, the older girl leaned in closer and pressed her lips to Wendy’s.

The younger girl’s eyes widened at the soft unexpected touch. Before she could react, Irene pulled away and tried to close up what was left of Wendy’s clothes. Instead, she took off her own jacket and gave it to Wendy.

Irene stood up and looked outside. “Come. I’ll take us home.”

\--


	17. Chapter 17

A distance away from Irene and Wendy, Taeyeon watched the whole thing. Her lip curled in disgust at the pair leaving the cave.

“Irene, you fucker,” she muttered. “I see…swooping in as her only savior is how you play this game, eh? Well…we’ll just see about that.”

Loud moaning beneath her post disturbed her and she looked down to find Tiffany trudging past. An idea struck her mind prompting her to leap down to assist her ex-mate. “Fany-ah!” she called.

“Taeyeon, go away!” Tiffany cried out.

However, the Arcane alpha continued to come to her aid and grabbed her hand. “What’s wrong? Who hurt you?” She noticed the state of Tiffany’s face. One eye was nastily wounded, her mouth was broken, and slash marks and blood still obscured her beautiful face.

“Haha, funny! Since when did you care about me?” Tiffany tore away from her.

“Of course I still care. I was starting to give up on Wendy anyway.”

“Hah! In your dreams!”

“Help me, Fany! I promise you’ll have a chance to destroy Irene!”

Tiffany only laughed in response. “Don’t flatter yourself, Taengoo!”

Taeyeon grumbled angrily to herself as she watched her ex disappear into the darkness. She clenched her fist and punched the tree next to her. “Fine. What use would you be anyway? I’m not going to share Wendy.”

\--

Wendy couldn’t believe she was riding on the back of a big wolf. This was the second time she witnessed Irene as a blue-eyed black wolf and she wasn’t dreaming.

This was real.

And she was clinging onto tufts of wolf-Irene’s soft black pelt because she was afraid of falling off.

Irene leaped over the fence onto campus grounds and sat down to let Wendy slide off her back. Then, she morphed back into her human form.

To Wendy’s surprise, there was hardly a sign of any damage from the fight. Irene’s face bore no scratches or bruises, and her hands were completely patched up. How could this be?

This was not humanly possible.

Irene was a wolf.

Irene IS a wolf.

And so was the majority of the school.

All the night howling she’d heard, the changing eye colors of Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Irene, the way Irene acted like she had a tenth sense…it was beginning to unravel and make sense. These students were hybrids or werewolves.

All of them were congregated here…because they must have been like her—like Irene said. They were here for a reason, and it wasn’t just for academics.

Once you come here, you can never leave…

“Y-you were right…” Wendy said softly. “You were right about everything.”

“That doesn’t matter now,” Irene replied and held her hand. “What matters is that you’re safe.”

After returning to the dorm, they took a hot shower and resettled for bed. They lay side by side under the covers, both staring at the ceiling as they relived the events.

“T-thank you…for saving me again,” Wendy said softly.

“I’m glad you’re ok,” the latter replied.

“Where did you go?”

“Hm?”

“You left me alone.”

“I wanted you to sleep more. You work too hard,” Irene replied.

“But you didn’t answer my question.” She looked at the older girl, who continued staring up.

“Don’t worry about it, Wen-Wen,” Irene cuddled her and pressed her nose to her cheek. “Get some rest while you still can.”

\--

The days that followed were filled with studying, practicing, homework, more studying, more practicing, and pressure. The end of the first term was arriving fast. All the students in the conservatory were preparing for their performance finals on their respective instruments. Some were getting ready for their sophomore/junior/senior pre-screening recital like Irene (she’s a senior in case we forgot).

Now that Wendy and Irene were closer, Irene was letting her have a little leeway. They didn’t sit in the same practice when one or the other was practicing. Irene trusted her enough to wait now. Plus, after Wendy’s abduction, the younger girl was not intent on getting caught alone.

Speaking of that topic, Tiffany was nowhere to be seen. Irene triumphantly deduced that the crazy girl finally got the hint and was staying in her own territory.

On one particular day, Wendy had just finished practicing guitar. Her fingers felt dead but she felt accomplished that she finally managed to nail a certain difficult passage in her assigned piece. She exited the room to return the key and nearly crashed into a tall boy.

“Hi,” he said. “Remember me?”

“Um…” She looked up at him and tried to recall who this guy was.

“We spoke on campus once.”

Ah! The guy asking about Irene. “Sehun…?” she guessed.

“Yeah!” he smiled. “I heard you playing. Sounds nice.”

“Um, thanks.” She gave him a respectful bow before continuing on to return the key at the music library.

However, he continued following her. She glanced nervously to the side, her ear catching the sound of his footsteps. Somewhere down the hallway, she could hear Irene’s piano playing, and she wondered if she could make a break for it and stake out under the older girl’s protection.

“I want to talk to you,” he said.

“I have to return this,” she told him thinking he would leave.

Unfortunately, that did not happen.

Sehun was still standing there.

Wendy passed him, but that didn’t stop him from following her. “Wait up a moment, won’t you?” he said in a tone that was not rude, but sounded a bit annoyed.

Being the nice girlt that she was, Wendy turned to him.

“Sorry if you’re busy, but I need to ask you something.” Sehun stuck his hand in his pocket, appearing to be a bit anxious. “You’re close to Irene, right?”

Wendy gave him a wary look. “Why?”

“I need your help,” he said. “Look, Irene doesn’t open herself up to anyone so there’s no way I’d be able to even get a mile within her range.”

His explanation was confusing the younger girl. “I’d like to be able to hold a conversation with her for once. I mean, I’ve seen how she’s been snapping at everyone lately.”

It suddenly dawned on Wendy that this guy had a massive crush on Irene.

“She’s really feisty on the outside, but I’m sure she’s just really broken inside,” he continued sadly. “I mean…after Taeyeon, she must be devastated at the result it’s left her in.” He gave her a desperate look. “Please, won’t you help me?”

“Um…”

For some reason, she was reluctant—first of all, because she hardly knew the guy…and also because she didn’t like the idea of Irene and him together. “I…I don’t know…”

“I’ll make it worth your while,” he pressed on desperately.

“You will not.” Wendy instantly felt relief at the sound of that familiar tone.

“Oh, hi Irene!” Sehun exclaimed with a smile on his face. “How are you? Your piano playing really has improved.”  
Irene narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and grabbed Wendy’s hand. “That can’t mean much coming from a slacker like you,” she replied.

“What? Don’t you remember me? We were in the woodwind class together!”

“Yeah. You kept noodling, and your saxophone playing sucked.”

“What?” he cried.

Irene kept burning him. “It sounded like someone was forcing air out of a broken whoopee bag. Goodbye.” And she dragged Wendy away from him.

Chancing a backward glance, she saw the look on Sehun’s face. There was some sadness—who wouldn’t be sad after the horrible things Irene said.

“Unnie, you could have been nicer,” she reprimanded the wolf girl in a soft voice.

“What were you talking about?” Irene demanded.

“N-nothing!”

“Oh, it was something. What kind of deal did he offer? Sex?” the older girl continued.

“Ew! No!” Wendy cried.

The corner of Irene’s lips twitched, and Wendy wondered if she was mad at her. But the older girl only dragged her out of the building without warning and pinned her into a secluded area. “Unnie, what’s going on?” she asked nervously.

Irene suddenly turned into a mushy puppy begging for attention. She coddled Wendy and rubbed her cheek against hers. “I didn’t want him to bother you, Wen-Wen,” she whined.

Shocked at the sudden change in mood, Wendy cleared her throat and pat Irene’s head. “I…I understand. Just be careful not to be too harsh.”

But the older girl pouted. “I can’t promise that.”

Wendy sighed heavily while Irene continued to make a fuss over her. “Fine…” She tried to push away from the older girl, but that only prompted Irene to hug tighter. “Can you let go of me please?”

\--

Red eyes gleamed in the darkness as a shadowed figure with yellow eyes dragged a lump into the room. “Thank you, Taeyang.”

The other figure bowed to her and left the room leaving her alone with the one bound on the floor. She smirked to herself and leaned down close to her victim. “So…Sehun, eh?” she whispered as the other person’s muffled cries began to increase in volume.

She took off the gag, and he gasped before yelling out all manner of threats and profanities.

“Shut up!” Taeyeon kicked him in the head, which did shut him up.

“Let me go! What did I ever do to you?” he snarled.

“I’m not looking for a fight, bozo,” she replied. “I need you.”

“Fuck you!” Sehun snarled.

“Oh…but don’t you want to finally settle with Irene?” Taeyeon said snidely. She smirked when he failed to respond quickly. “You know…we both want the same thing.”

“What? Never! I thought you gave up on her for some freshman!”  
“I did. But…what we want…they’re tied together like a knot,” she continued. “If we don’t act fast, they’ll become tightly entwined so that no one can separate them.”

“You’re crazy. Just tell it to me straight!” Sehun spat.

“Patience my boy,” Taeyeon said as she grabbed his shirt and dragged him to a dark secluded corner. She grabbed a knife and showed it to him in the dim light. “Cooperate now, puppy.”

“Don’t test me!” he hissed.

But Taeyeon pressed the knife dangerously close against his neck skin. “You’re no alpha, Sehun. You’re a beta at best, but…” she suddenly tossed away the weapon. “I won’t let you go to waste.”

Before Sehun could demand that she untie him at once, he heard the rattle of chains, and then felt cold rough metal encase his neck. “Hey! What are you-“

Taeyeon chuckled dangerously as she reproduced the knife again. She raised it high in the air and he shut his eyes thinking this was the end. Instead, he felt the bounds around his wrists freed, but then he felt chain cuffs on each wrist. There were footsteps, and then he heard cranking. His eyes opened but he could see nothing. Sehun felt his arms being pulled aside so that he was laying on the floor like he was on a cross.

“This is going to be so much fun!” Taeyeon hissed against his ear causing him to shiver.

“Let me go!” he cried. “I have nothing that is of value to you!”

“Oh yes I do,” Taeyeon replied and placed her hand over his crotch. She felt him shiver, and a smirk made its way to her lips. She unbuttoned his jeans and then unzipped his pants. “You’re very attracted to Irene, aren’t you?”  
“What of it?” Sehun coughed. He was trying to resist the Arcane Alpha, but it was difficult to keep from being turned on when a most beautiful alpha was stroking him. Wait, what about Irene! He cried to himself.

Taeyeon fondled his bulging cock with delicate fingers that were sucking the erection out of him. “Geez. You’re desperate aren’t you?” She purred.

“G-gah! Stop!” Sehun cried desperately though he was secretly aching for her to do more.

“Just imagine…Irene is doing this to you…” Her red eyed gleamed into Sehun’s. “Don’t you wish it was Irene?”  
Sehun felt his mind closing over, succumbing to Taeyeon’s will. Instead of the Arcane Alpha, he saw Irene. Instantly, he felt his manhood throbbing and he touched Irene’s arm. She smiled at him seeming to know what he wanted as she stroked him faster. “Yes…yes!” he chanted. His breaths became faster as he felt pressure pleasurably pooling deep within his gut. “Keep going! Oh!” he moaned.

She continued pumping his cock. Even when hot strands of his seed erupted like a volcano, she continued pumping him. His orgasms didn’t seem to stop as he writhed in pleasure.

Finally, she stopped and disappeared. Sehun was about to call out but was face to face with the Arcane Alpha.

“Don’t you see?” Taeyeon said slowly as she continued staring into his soul with those crimson red eyes. “I can give you what you want. In return, you will help me get what I want.”

Sehun stared into her eyes becoming drawn ever deeper into her control. “Yes…Alpha.”

“Good. Soon, Irene will be yours.” She snapped her fingers and one of her personal assistants (slaves) appeared—a young male named Baekhyun. “Baek, reward him.”

Immediately, her little slave boy went to work on Sehun’s cock which was hardening up again.

Taeyeon stepped out as the two became frisky.

“And soon…Wendy will be mine.”

\--

Wendy walked out in front of the faculty panel that would be grading her final performance for the first term. She smiled and bowed the way she was taught. Then, she announced he name and her piece. Still shaking from extra nerves, she sat down on the chair and took a few moments to breathe.

All week, she’d had exams—literature, history, math, music theory, and now this.

This was the last exam for this term. She could breathe easy after this.

All she had to do was focus.

Wendy glanced over her music, shut her eyes, and then made sure her fingers were in position before she began to play.

Before she knew it, her audience was clapping and she was making her performance exit.

That wasn’t so bad at all.

Now, she was free to rest during winter vacation.

After putting her guitar back in its case, she headed out of the recital hall and crashed right into Irene.

“That was well performed,” the older girl told her. “You really sound good.”

“Um, thanks…” Wendy felt bad that she couldn’t say the same about Irene since she never actually heard the latter play an entire piece. “Sorry I didn’t see yours.”

“It’s fine,” Irene replied. “It was just a screening, but I passed so I can do my senior recital in the spring time.” She gave her a pointed look. “And you have to go to that one.”

“I will.”

Irene smiled and took her hand. “Well, it’s over! Let’s get back quickly. The snow is already getting heavy.”

Wendy willingly followed her back to the dorm. Irene was right. The snow was covering most of the ground, and it was getting cold. But in the dorm, it was warm again and the both of them stared out the window. The sky was cloudy; the snow was falling and caking the treetops below in white.

Not too long ago, Irene had fought Taeyeon somewhere in that forest—but had to forfeit early for Wendy’s safety.

And not too long ago, Wendy had been captured and taken away somewhere in that forest, but Irene came to her rescue.

“You never told me why you left that night,” Wendy said softly and looked up at the older girl.

Irene returned her gaze and pat her shoulder. “There was business to be taken care of.”

“Late in the night? How did you know where I was?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Irene held her close and pressed her cheek against Wendy’s temple. “The important thing is that you’re safe.”

The younger girl sighed. It looked like she wasn’t going to get a real answer from Irene right now. Why didn’t Irene want to tell her the truth? Was it something bad? Was it something that could involve Wendy herself?

She shut her eyes remembering how her innocence was almost stolen by Tiffany. She remembered the invasive touch, the lips that scorcher her own…her neck, her body…

And then Irene came flying in brutally fighting with Tiffany until she claimed victory. Wendy had been terrified, but Irene remained calm and gentle—very unlike her feisty demeanour. The older girl held her providing warmth and safety in her fragile exposed state. Wendy remembered the familiar smell of vanilla faint underneath the smell of the forest. Irene had leaned in close, their eyes staring clearly into the other until…

“T-That kiss!” Wendy suddenly exclaimed startling Irene. “Why did you kiss me?!”


	18. Chapter 18

Irene blinked at her once.

And then twice.

“Why did I kiss you?” she stammered. “Did you not like it?”

“W-well…I…” Wendy stammered. “We’re not even dating! You can’t just do that!”

Again, the older girl blinked at her. “I can only kiss you when we’re dating?”

“So you kiss anyone whenever you feel like it?” Annoyance surged through her chest because she wasn’t sure why she felt mad, or why she felt so confused.

“What? Of course not!” Irene said defensively. “I wouldn’t kiss just anybody like that! Who do you think I am?”

“You’re a wolf!”

“That doesn’t mean anything!”

“Then why did you do it?” Wendy demanded.

“B-because I like you!” Irene grabbed her hand. “I really like you!” She swallowed nervously.

“Don’t think you can manipulate me by playing with my feelings,” Wendy warned. “Just because you saved me many times doesn’t mean I’m gonna fall in love with you.”

“Of course not.” Irene was hurt a little bit. Did that mean Wendy didn’t like her? She thought they were getting somewhere up to a point of reconciliation and something more than mere companions.

I messed up…

“So…you don’t like me then…” she faltered and let Wendy’s hand slip away from hers.

The younger girl looked up at her in alarm, instantly regretting the outburst just now. “I…I’m not sure…” she admitted and looked down at the ground.

Irene stood closer and tilted her chin up. “Is it because I’m a girl?”

Wendy did not answer.

“It is…isn’t it?”

Wendy couldn’t meet her gaze. She felt shame…for everything that had happened. Did she lead Irene on? She hadn’t meant to. It was just friendship they had after all…right? Close friends…

But did friends cuddle like Irene? Did close friends nuzzle each other’s cheeks in comfort?

Did close friends kiss the way Irene kissed her?

Yet…what of it? What to think of that kiss?

At the time it happened, Wendy’s mind was too clouded to even react. Now that they were fully discussing it, she really wasn’t sure what she felt to wards Irene.

All she knew was when they were together, she felt safe. She felt comfort and warmth in the cold.

“I don’t want to force you to feel anything,” Irene told her.

“I…I always thought I was straight,” Wendy said quietly. “But…now when I’m with you, I’m not sure.”

Irene sat down on the bed and pulled her with her. “Why does that matter?”

“Because…it’s not widely accepted.”

“Jus because people can’t handle that doesn’t make it wrong.” Irene leaned on one hand while watching the younger girl. “Love is love. There isn’t anything different between any couple except for the people involved.”

Wendy looked up at her and the latter gave her a small one-sided smile. “Have you ever liked anyone more than just friends?” Irene asked.

The younger shook her head.

“Me neither. Well…at least I don’t consider Taeyeon and I as a couple.”

“So you and her were together then?” Wendy questioned.

“Almost,” Irene corrected her. “Taeyeon had me brainwashed with those same pills you were given. My friends…they noticed how I was changing, but I didn’t believe them. I was too far into their ‘conversion’ that I snapped. Taeyeon got wind of their suspicion and they were forced to leave quickly.”

“How were they able to tell?”

“Not everyone here is subject to their plans. Joy and Seulgi were not chosen, and by the end of the year, they would have been dropped and transferred to another conservatory.”

“Do you know where they are?” Wendy asked feeling a sting of pain for Irene who did not have someone watching her back like she did.

“No. They left without a single word to me.” Irene sighed softly. “I think they gave up on me at that point…but eventually, I found out they were right all along.” She gripped Wendy’s hand. “That’s why I had to help you. I didn’t want you to become like me or Tiffany…or anyone else who has been a victim of the Arcane Pack.”

What? There was more than one ‘Arcane’—what did that even mean anyway? Wendy wanted to voice so many more questions, but it all felt too overwhelming for her. Besides, Irene seemed a little depressed having to remember her own past.

“So I made a promise to myself to keep at least one person from becoming a puppet. And I chose you.”

“But…why me?”

“Honestly…this is going to sound weird, but I felt a strange connection to you when we first met. Something inside me was drawing me towards you no matter how hard I tried to pretend nothing was there.”

“You make it sound so easy…”

“Maybe I’m better at voicing my thoughts.”

“But how can I face other people who assume that I’m straight? My parents…” she quickly stopped. She hadn’t thought about them for so long, and it wasn’t because of the medicine. This school held so many mysteries and questions that she spent more time trying to decipher the new world. “Irene-unnie…when I called them…why…?”

The older girl sighed heavily and stared out the window. “I don’t know. I’m not sure what happened to any of our parents.”

\--

“Good morning, Sehun!” Taeyeon burst into the chamber where her newest accomplice lay naked and still chained up. She smirked to herself and knelt down to the tall boy. “We have a lot of work to get done. Did you enjoy last night?”  
“Yes, Alpha.”

“Good. Soon, it will be Irene rewarding you instead of my little Baekie-boy.” Taeyeon released him and nudged him with her foot. She really didn’t like being around male wolves that were pretending to be alphas. “Come on. Get up.”

Sehun redressed and fixed his hair so that he looked a little more presentable.

“Hmph. At least you’re easy to manipulate,” she muttered to herself. “Follow me. It is time for your training.”

“Training?” Sehun questioned. “I thought we were just going to work something out.”  
“Sure. But we need to be prepared…if you ever hope to get Irene, then you need to get to my level.” Taeyeon paused. “Scratch that. You just need to get on Irene’s level and show her who’s the real boss around here.”

“Right.”

Taeyeon smirked. Hah! You have your little puppy, Irene. Now I have my own to sic on you!

And soon…we will have a trade off—well…more like snatching since Wendy will become mine.

\--

Wendy felt heavy and empty. They didn’t exchange many words except for a few things that were of minimal importance. She could tell that Irene was upset. Though she never directly answered, Irene must have assumed that Wendy’s answer was a no.

Honestly, Wendy wasn’t quite sure herself.

She liked Irene.

And she knew that she didn’t like the thought of Irene being with Sehun.

Am I…gay?

But perhaps she just liked being with Irene. Perhaps she just liked the companionship they had, the company, the reassurance that there was someone who had her back. Irene was more like an older sister, she thought to herself.

Wendy cast a brief glance at the older girl who was sitting up beside her and reading a folded mess of papers. She noticed that Irene had a tall nose, her define eyebrows, and the way her lips moved as she muttered to herself.

How soft those lips were against hers…Wendy wondered how they would feel against her lips again—

No! Stop making fantasies! Wendy quickly turned on her side and pulled the covers over her face.

Her cheeks were getting quite warm.

She urged herself to stop thinking like that.

But she said she likes you!

Do you like me too? Irene’s question uprooted itself into her mind.

I do, but…

Why not? Wendy questioned herself. What is so wrong about liking someone…a girl who is three years older than me?

She began to wonder how her parents would react. Would they bed mad? Sad? Happy that she finally found someone to be happy with—wait, I’m not getting married! Ugh…

This was getting nowhere.

Yet, as far as Wendy knew, she hadn’t had much attraction to guys anyway—or anyone for that matter. She just focused on her studies and music. That was all that mattered to her anyway. Some guys asked her to prom in high school, but she politely declined and used the excuse of extracurricular activities outside of school.

But meeting Irene…this was the first time Wendy felt a tug of attachment to anyone besides her family. Maybe it’s because I have no friends anyway…she pondered.

Or was she just looking for excuses to convince herself that she bore no feelings to Irene?  
Wendy heard the click of the lamp being shut off. She felt the bed move as Irene settled to sleep.

However, she did not cuddle Wendy like usual.

And Wendy felt a little bit sad.

Irene was quite saddened.

She really thought that she and Wendy were becoming closer.

She really thought that the younger girl liked her a little more than just a companion…maybe a little more than a genuine friend.

What made it worse was that she never got an answer.

But she supposed it was also good since there wasn’t a complete yes or no answer.

There was still hope.

Yet she didn’t want to make it seem like she was forcing Wendy to do anything against her own will. Irene didn’t want to lose Wendy’s companionship even if the girl didn’t want to be her mate. But if Wendy knew about what she wanted, what if it scared the girl away?  
Maybe it was better to keep it on the low down for now and just continue the way they were before the kiss.

But how? Irene knew that her wolf instincts were going to be difficult to control the more her attraction grew—not that she was going to jump Wendy. She just wanted to kiss her soft lips again, hold her close, and share special intimate moments. She wanted to be the only one—not like Taeyeon, who had many mates.

Now, disappointment was sitting on her chest as she watched Wendy beside her but huddled under the covers. She had caught the girl staring, but decided not to acknowledge it. Things had become a little awkward after the relationship talk…

Sighing, she put away what she was reading and shut off the lights before going to bed.

Irene really wanted to cuddle her, but was afraid that Wendy wouldn’t like it—or worse think that Irene wanted to do more than cuddle in bed. So she turned her back on her and tried not to cry. What if Wendy doesn’t want me?

Ugh…ever since she became a wolf, her emotions were becoming overwhelmingly strong. With Wendy, if there were something that threatened the girl or someone trying to cut them off, she would get so mad.

And if she ever did something to make Wendy upset, she would feel immense amounts of regret and sadness, which ultimately turned her into a puppy begging for forgiveness.

Irene turned onto her other side to look at the lump beside her.

“Sweet dreams, Wen-Wen…” she whispered.

\--

Taeyeon’s eyes glowed crimson red as she stared at Sehun who was sitting directly across from her. She had to be sure that Sehun was fully on board with her.

He was absolutely stoned, completely encaptured in her control.

A smirk played on her lips. “Now, my plan…”

\--

Irene heard the fumbling in the door a heartbeat before it happened. Quickly, she bolted upright her eyes now glowing bright blue as they locked on the door.

She glanced at Wendy who was still asleep and then turned back to the door. The fumbling continued and then it stopped. Irene tasted the air. Dark, dank like stagnant water…it sort of smelled like soil and an old basement.

She crept toward the door listening for whoever was on the other side. She detected no breathing and she could hear footsteps walking away.

Irene tried to open the door, but found that the door was jammed. Again, she tried to force it open, but there was no hope.

But that was also when she scented something strange in the air.


End file.
